If you think Dell can’t hold its own with Apple when it comes to getting love from Gen Y, you’re probably Justin Long’s agent. Or you haven’t been to DellLounge.com lately. Either way, shame on you. 

The new Dell Lounge delivers the kind of stuff digital kids go nuts for — authentic, grassroots and ready to share on your social networks du jour. But the site isn’t just winning hearts and minds with original shows, exclusive interviews, UGC and cool partnerships: it’s cementing self-expression and creativity as Dell brand values.  
 
Like any relationship, Dell Lounge is a labor of love. A crush this big doesn’t develop overnight, though. It’s taken years to make it work — and we’ve been there every step of the way.

Stage I: Serious Flirting
Before Dell Lounge was even a glimmer in Dell’s eye, the company tapped us to help promote its role as tech sponsor of Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex LoveShow. They needed to spread the word about the world tour and (ZOMG!) the chance to win an Inspiron signed by JT. Fast.

To get the job done, we created a simple, stylish microsite designed to turn heads and bring the masses on board. It worked, and audience response got the C-suite talking about how to apply this approach to other Dell sponsorships. Since these relationships fell outside of the product-centric domain of Dell.com, everone agreed the solution should, too. Enter Dell Lounge.

Stage II: Courtship Dating
We designed the original Dell Lounge as a place where Dell could showcase its partnerships and its playful side to reach new audiences. For launch, the site featured JT's fall tour, ACL Music Fest, the BMW Sauber F1 Racing Team and the Inspiron Urban Challenge.

Springbox handled every aspect of site development, from creating a fresh new look and feel to cultivating a unique voice. A Flash-based interactive site, Dell Lounge came equipped with custom-built video player, image galleries and MP3 player to provide visitors with a fully immersive multimedia experience.

The resulting site was unlike any other Dell property, yet it tied back to the brand in all the right places. As a result, Dell Lounge began to carve a niche for itself as a lifestyle brand, connecting Dell to young audiences via cool, engaging content. As soon as we put it out there, they wanted more.

Stage III: Gettin’ Engaged
Thanks to big wins with events like ACL Music Fest and the Sound & Jury Contest, Dell partnered with Springbox again to take Dell Lounge to the next level. Dell Lounge 2.0 delivered even more exclusive content, fan participation opportunities and live events — all tailored to suit the audience’s digital tastes.

As Dell Lounge expanded, it embraced opportunities to partner with the likes of Paste Magazine, Billy Bob Thornton and Hot Freaks. The crowd went wild. “The Dell Lounge has quickly become a great destination site,” explained former Dell Lounge project manager Michael Lambert. “Now the 2.0 launch will allow us to become a true lifestyle site.”

So our brand and our audience were making full-on goo goo eyes at each other. It was time for their mutual friends to get to know each other, too.

Phase IV: 2gether 4ever
Our relationship with Gen Y had blossomed in a matter of months. Still, there was one crucial piece missing: a real sense of community. So we completely reinvented the site, extending its reach with a branded social media ecosystem (Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Imeem, etc.), custom tags and RSS feeds so we could create and share our killer content everywhere. Which, incidentally, slashed our production time in half. Then we gave it a coat of neon candy paint and spritzed it with SEO body spray. Voila. The new Dell Lounge.

OK, so it was a little more complicated than that. You get the idea. Fresh look and intuitive feel plus flat IA and easy-to-use CMS equals a site that thinks young but gets along with everyone. Best of all, the site’s design also allows us to fold in branded content from Dell and partners in engaging but unobtrusive ways, so brand skeptics can open their mind at their own pace as they grow to love the site.

Back to the features. Whether we're talking user-generated or premium content from Springbox, Super! Alright!, VBS, Perez Hilton or whoever, Dell Lounge makes it easy to find what you love. Users can scan by category (Music, Style, etc.) or browse our channels (Koi, Motherboard, Comrades, Candy and Limelight). They can also click, search or create tags to drill down directly. No matter what, the most popular stuff always rises to the top. Digital democracy at its finest.

Apparently, people just looove democracy. “When Springbox pulled up the new site for me, I was simply awestruck,” says Lisa Martin-Louro, Music and Entertainment Digital Content Integration for Dell Global Consumer Online. “The Dell Lounge has evolved in so many ways — it’s amazing to see where it’s at today.” And with plans to go global, the love is spreading. Fast.

Several weeks ago, my team jumped on a call with Facebook to discuss impending changes to the fan page layout. As our FB rep walked through an example, describing all the ways it would more closely resemble a profile page, I couldn’t help but compare the new structure to a typical sitemap. He then handed over the keys to our test pages and mentioned we’d have until “sometime in March” to play around in the sandbox.

Sure enough, they flipped the switch about a month later — with no further warning. Surprise! Our new fan page was live.
 
We used the new features to our advantage right away, publishing a notification that said, “We’re playing around with our new fan page. Tell us what you think!” Within minutes, dozens of people had shown approval of our little remark with likes and encouraging comments of their own. In an instant, our openness had endeared our audience to the brand that much more.

Which brings us back to the fan page versus website issue. Thanks to page tabs, it’s very possible to essentially recreate your website. But is that the right solution for your brand’s Facebook presence? Combine the revamped structure with enhanced capabilities (ex. publishing content directly to your fans’ news feeds) and you have the potential to evolve your brand’s relationship with its audience in ways a website can’t.

When it comes down to it, we never stop playing around in the Facebook sandbox. To us, it’s the only way to stay on top of an ever-changing environment. What’s your take?

In our industry, the term user experience (UX) is in danger of becoming played out. This is a shame, because unlike some of the other interactive buzzwords at death's door — Web 2.0 and wet floor immediately come to mind — UX deserves a better life.

At its core, UX goes a long way toward defining a brand — especially a digital one. People form opinions about a brand based on their interactions with it, from in-store kiosks to rich media microsites. Consistent look and feel helps to anchor those opinions, but great UX goes beyond consistency, reinforcing brand identity while engaging, entertaining and — if the stars align — inspiring the user. Ultimately, the takeaway is brand affinity, which can be worth plenty over the long haul.

What does any of this have to do with where you work? Well, the look and feel of a given physical space conveys a lot of information to people who spend time there. Is the agency a boutique or a behemoth? Does it have an experimental or a more traditional business model? Everywhere you look, visual cues reveal a company's identity — and its priorities. Hopefully, those priorities include helping you achieve your goals.   

Shameless self-promotion aside, our offices serve as a good example of how look and feel come together to express brand and philosophy. From mid-century modern decor and orange FLOR tiles to wide-open spaces and the distinct absence of cubicles, a handful of carefully chosen interior design elements have come to define our visual identity.

These elements also encourage collaboration and spark creativity on a daily basis. How, exactly? To paraphrase a wise woman, by giving people the space to be people. Instead of trying to rigidly define experiences, they should provide a strong environmental framework that's flexible enough to accommodate the imagination (Workplace UX? Nah...). This kind of flexibility allows creative minds to do some of their best work.

While it may not seem obvious at first blush, the relationship between what you put into an office space and what you get out of it is pretty clear. When something is designed to inspire, people notice — and everyone involved is that much better off for it.