Sep

28

Learn to play hockey the Metro Studios way.

September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment | Written by Lindsay Talsness

This summer, Metro Studios was contracted by the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, a USHL hockey team, to meet a wide variety of marketing and production needs for their 2009-2010 season. We’re thrilled that Metro Studios can be ONE place - so many solutions for the Riders. Here’s our take on Metro Studios’ style of hockey.

Rethink everything you know.

The Riders came to Metro Studios looking for a complete branding and production upgrade – transforming a simple hockey game into an entertainment experience. We were up for the challenge.

Forget shin guards, go for the big screen TVs.

We installed four huge video screens above the ice rink, with cameras located across the arena to capture every angle of the game.

Metro Screens and Cameras

Light up your fans.

We developed a production plan from scratch, including video content which will play during the pre-game show and during the game. The video clips include player interviews, sponsor mentions, advertisements, and custom clips for each game.   We even produced an original music video just for the Riders.

Music Video

Forget the net – take it to the web.

Our web team built a new website for the team featuring high definition videos on every page, a design worthy of the NHL, and increased opportunities for fan interaction with weekly e-mail updates. Our website blends seamlessly with our production coverage – enabling the Riders to post game coverage just minutes after the final buzzer.

Riders website

Don’t wrap your hockey stick – wrap your production trailer.

As part of the project, we hooked the Riders up with a 52 foot production trailer that serves as the command center for all in-game production.  We wrapped it in a custom skin designed by our art director to give it a unique Riders’ branding.

Hook the public.

Metro has produced a number of TV and radio commercials to promote the upcoming season throughout the area. We’ll also produce a 30 minute TV program every Saturday throughout the season, featuring Mark Carlson, the Riders’ head coach.

“We couldn’t be happier with Metro’s work.  We’re confident these changes will bring the Riders to a new level of competitive intensity this year, while growing our fan base, and giving people a new appreciation for the team,” said Jeff Jauch, co-owner of the Riders.

So, what’s next for Metro Studios? We’re getting our mullets cut on Friday.

Sep

28

Recently, several high profile websites such as Twitter and Facebook were victims of hacking – resulting in hours of downtime for the micro-blogging site, and significant delays on Facebook. These attacks followed a series of security hacks on websites this summer.

What can we learn from this?

Here are several security best practices we recommend to our web clients:

  1. Never store credit card data on your website. Use a reputable third party, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) company instead. By doing so, you’ll save your company the risk of a security breach that could cost your company money in fines, repayment, or any number of lawsuits.
  2. Don’t use the same password on every account you have. Weak passwords are one of the greatest security weaknesses online. Your password should:
    • Have a minimum of 8 characters
    • Be a combination of letters, numbers, and punctuation
    • Not consist of a real word
    • Avoid using personal information such as your:
      • Birthday
      • Pet’s name
      • Significant other’s name
      • Street name
      • Social security number
      • Favorite color/number
    • Not include any of the 10 most common passwords according to PC Magazine.

      • If having a wide variety of complex passwords seems daunting, we suggest you use a password management system such as http://www.keepass.info. This downloadable program enables you to use one secure master password to access your password list.

  3. Use caution with “secret” questions that can be used to recover or reset your password. Questions such as “What is your favorite pet’s name?” or “Where did you go to high school?” are answers that can easily be ascertained by someone you know or through your Facebook profile.
  4. At your business, limit internal access to passwords. Only the appropriate person should have access to passwords or secure areas of your website – other members of the company should not have access.
  5. Work with reputable vendors who are committed to web security. Questions you should potential web service providers include:
    • What security measures do you have in place to prevent hackers from accessing my website?
    • Do you have your own dedicated servers?
    • Do you maintain a firewall?
    • Do you encrypt passwords in your database?

At Metro Studios, we take web security very seriously. We never store credit card information, and your secure information is always encrypted. We also stay on top of the very latest hacking and security trends to ensure that everything we build is airtight against potential security threats.

Blogroll