Every year, Trends magazine publishes the “Gazelles”, i.e. a ranking of the fastest growing companies in different Belgian cities. This year, we got the surprise to enter the Top 15 in the “mid-sized companies” category for the Brussels area. Check out the full ranking in this document.

Last week at the Convergence Web conference, the AWT asked us to present our vision of the Internet for the next ten years. Very ambitious proposal but the problem is we have no crystal ball and, like a wise man once said: always avoid to make predictions, especially about the future. Anyway, we tried to detect and explain ten major trends that are probably shaping the future of the new media scene. Just tell us in the comments what you think of our analysis.

10 Major Trends in the Internet View more OpenOffice presentations from awt.

Our Dutch agency SunTzu announced today its transformation into Emakina.NL. Since they joined our network in April 2007, the folks at Emakina.NL have succesfully strengthened their collaboration with our other entities and demonstrated a strong added value in Customer Intelligence & Activation for prestigious clients like KLM or Unilever. This rebranding means an even deeper integration at the operational level and a significant extension of Emakina’s service offering in the Netherlands. Once again, we prove our ambition on the Dutch market and our commitment in building an integrated network of interactive agencies at a European scale. For further information, please check out the official press release in French or in Dutch.

Our French agency groupeReflect just launched I Love Lumix, a product-based community promoting the Lumix digital camera by Panasonic on the French market. After registering on the platform, users are able to publish pictures, share tips and tricks, meet other photographers with similar interests and participate to special contests. In addition to these social networking functionalties, I Love Lumix also features exclusive content built around Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, aka the famous electronic music duo Justice who accepted to endorse the Lumix brand to support the release of the Lumix G1 in France. Users could e.g. check out backstage pictures taken by band producer Pedro Winter during the latest world tour and catch a glimpse of what was happening behind the scene. A very good illustration of the “building brand experiences” concept that is at the heart of Emakina’s philosophy.

On the back of their recent success tour through sold out arenas in the States, the folks at Design is Dead have now announced a European crusade. A once in a lifetime opportunity to see them live, ’cause — like true artists — they tend to spend more time in their studio than on stage. So, don’t hesitate…Book them now for a mindblowing performance of their greatest hits and some brand new material. By the way, have also a look at the new Design is Dead website.

In a pure shameless self-promotional perspective, we’re quite satisfied with the latest edition of our Annual Report. Whether you’re a job seeker, a journalist, a shareholder or a proud client, this brochure provides a very good overview of our European activities, our recent developments and our business approach . Download it in French or in Dutch.

The AWT organises “Convergence Web” next Tuesday in Namur. This prospective event will gather experts, entrepreneurs and technology thinkers around the following theme: “What’s the future of the Internet for the next ten years?” The speakers panel includes Wilfried Grommen (Microsoft), Arnaud Huret (ContactOffice), José Zurstrassen (Borderlinx), Brice Le Blévennec (Emakina), Dieter Kraewinkels (NetEvents.be)… Info and registration here.

Pierre Marcolini is one of the most finest master chocolatiers in the world. He’s also one of the very few to produce his own couverture chocolate, using a blend of personally-selected beans. In collaboration with photographer Xavier Harcq and Art Director Yan Pennor, we modestly tried to translate his talent and his unique approach into his new website. Visit, taste and enjoy.

We’re the proud sponsors (and the website producers) of Art’Contest, a Belgian competition showcasing the work of young artists who are offered the opportunity to show off their skills and gain a very first recognition from professionals. Check out the official website for further information.

What happens when 150 Emakinians try to fill the same Google spreadsheet at the same time? The result is a bit… unexpected. After 10 min.:

After one hour:

Another visual gem from our creative team : http://www.feteduprogres.be.

I will participate to a debate on alternative marketing this thursday at Solutions Business in Charleroi. The other speakers in the panel will include Cédric Rainotte (Wow Effect), Olivier de Wasseige (Defimedia) and Lionel Damm (Simaway) as Mr. Loyal. Info and registration here.

Well, every day comes with another good news for Quitters Arcade. Yesterday evening, we were informed this viral campaign was shortlisted by the Webby Awards, aka the the “Oscars of the Internet”, aka the most prestigious distinction in the Internet world. You can imagine how happy we are to be nominated for the second year in a row after the very first Webby we received for “I Need To Go” twelve months ago. The public voting is now open and we need your help to win the People Voice’s Award. Go to the dedicated website, register and vote for Quitters Arcade under the “Pharmaceuticals” category. Last but not least: tell it to the world before April 30. Like a famous figure would say: “Yes we can!”

Our viral campaign Quitters Arcade for Pfizer has won the Outstanding Achievement Award in the ‘Healthcare’ category at the American Interactive Media Awards. After two IAC Awards last month, this is already the third distinction attributed to this project in 2009.

As the web is now the centre of gravity in the relationship between a brand and its consumers, selecting and implementing the right Content Management System (CMS) has become a key issue for international companies. Today, most of them must face the “nightmare of complexity” and run websites with thousands of pages, multiple languages and workflows, multimedia content… Think global, act local : this famous principle has become incredibly challenging at the Internet age. During this 13th Emakina Academy, you will learn:

What the most important criteria are when it comes to select a new CMS.

The most efficient solutions that can cut costs, increase your productivity and reflect a coherent brand identity at every level of your organisation.

How large accounts tackled the issues of international deployments and turned their website into a business generator.

Want to attend this Academy? You have the choice between two dates and two locations

Brussels (Flagey) / April 22 / 9.30 - 12.00

Ghent (NH Hotel) / May 29 / 13.30 - 16.15

Register now in our Event section

I will participate next Tuesday to a conference hosted by EuraTechnologies (Lille area) on how Obama used new media to win the latest presidential elections in the US. The panel will also include Charles Bricman, Bruno Schroder (Microsoft), Pierre Lelong (Technofutur TIC), Eric Delcroix, Pascal Poty and Jean-Luc Synave (Simaway). Registration on the website of EuraTechnologies.

Headed by Benoît Conotte, famous Yogi and previous Business Development Manager, this new competence centre will provide a unique relaxation service offering towards Emakina’s customers. Brice le Blévennec, CVO of Emakina Group confirms us: “During the latest Digital Marketing First seminar, Emakina Belgium and The Reference provided 2 professional masseuses at their booth which turned out to be an instant hit. Upon further analysis, it was observed that during those days we succesfully delivered dozens of customer massages, while the number of interactive campaigns and websites sold was effictively zero. One of Emakina’s strong points has always been to respond quickly to marketing trends as they develop themselves. We have therefore instantly cancelled all our ongoing AJAX trainings and retrained our technical staff in the ancient techniques of Hatha Yoga.” “With the current economical crisis, our customers are becoming more and more stressed. Emakina has always been preoccupied with putting our customers at ease by offering them relevant custom-made solutions. After launching competence centres like Emakina/Perform (offering a unique integrated solution of Web Analytics and Search Engine Marketing) and Emakina/Media (the first media company specialized into 100% Digital Media Planing and Purchase) we are now launching our newest Competence Center called Emakina/Yoga”, as announced proudly by Denis Steisel, CEO. John Deprez, CEO of Emakina Belgium, adds “This transition from End-to-End Project Management to End-to-End Customer Management is a logical next step in our corporate strategy: making customers happy. Practically, in order to deliver zero-defect projects next to our Waterfall, Prince2 and Scrum methodologies, we have also added Meditation as a methodology that is now being practiced in large scala Java projects.” Furthermore, Karim Choukri, responsible for acquisitions and integrations, specifies: “Rather than calling upon offshore services for web development (which is not always ideal for customer facing websites as it introduces quality and communication risks), this time we actually do foresee far reaching partnerships with Indian tribes in the region of Bangalore. This new activity is expected to substantially contribute to the bottom-line of Emakina Group as a whole” Finally, Brice Le Blévennec concludes: “Another world premier for Emakina! We are the first agency based in Watermael-Boisfort to include this integrated service in the rest of our Full Service Digital Agency offering. To further recognize this new keystone activity, we have enriched our corporate colour set Orange, Blue and Green - that already stood for Creativity, Technology and Business - with the new colours Black and White that will stand for Ying and Yang. Emakina – your one-stop shop for Creativity, Technology and Business – now with Ying&Yang! Emakina Chief Yoga Officer

I will participate to several panels and workshops at the Rewics that will welcome more than 120 speakers and partners this thursday in Charleroi. If you’re involved in the non-profit sector, the Rewics (part of the Digital Week in Belgium) represent a very good occasion to learn more about new technologies and how they can help you build your project or give more visibility to your association.

Our agency provided strategic and graphical recommendations for the new Bruxelles Mobilité / Brussel Mobiliteit website that was launched officially this Wednesday. This portal is split into two distinct URLs (www.bruxellesmobilite.be and http://www.bruxellesespacespublics.be) and aims at centralizing information about mobility in the Brussels area. As a citizen, you have access to real-time reports on traffic in the city as well as a comprehensive overview of the current projects, initiatives and policies adopted by the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region to improve and develop transports in the Capital of Europe.

Two years of great works by the digital troubadours at Design is Dead. DESIGN IS DEAD REEL’09 from NOHOPEFORYOUNOW on Vimeo.