Situation
You've taken an objective look at your company's web site, and you're not pleased with what you see. In fact, it's unremarkable and unmemorable, just like a dozen others out there. It's full of information, but it does very little to highlight your company's benefits, capture its "personality" or build your brand.

Problem
Your web site needs an interactive component to make it memorable, help differentiate you from your competitors and sell your benefits.

Solution
There’s nothing like Macromedia’s Flash for attracting and holding the attention of web viewers, MillerWhite, LLC’s Norbert Yates said. “Flash is a tool that allows you to add dynamic activity to a web site, including video and animation," Yates explained. "It adds interest to your navigation and increases the potential for interactivity with the viewer.”

Yates said Flash actually improves navigation by allowing your viewer to quickly move through complex layers of information without loading large amounts of data. And ultimately, it improves a client’s image with the audience by demonstrating the latest technology and making the experience more interesting.

For examples of Flash used in web sites, check out a few sites developed by MillerWhite, LLC. Raybestos Powertrain’s Flash opening highlights one of the company’s products, transmission frictions. The range of Flash’s capabilities also allows you to put together fun character animation as on the Raybestos Powertrain's “Ask Ray” page, giving your company a personality.

Flash was used to highlight the environmental testing industry in the opening and to add interest to the navigation on the EC Labs’ site, introducing movement into what would otherwise be a static site. Similarly, Thompson Thrift’s use of a Flash intro highlights the design/build industry.

MillerWhite utilized Flash animation to reflect the personality and ambiance of SNAX, a high-end martini bar in Indianapolis (which has since closed due to the owner’s retirement). Flash can be used for other eTactics as well. MillerWhite uses Flash in its products, such as its 2004 interactive Holiday Card and the opening masthead of this eNewsletter.

Flash features include the ability to imbed video into the site. And if your site has a map, it can be made to come alive with Flash rollovers. The cursor, when moved across the map, will reveal information about or an expanded view of selected areas.

One criticism of Flash is that it takes longer to download than a non-Flash site. Yates said almost every computer comes standard with Flash now. “We’ve really moved past the point where a Flash feature slows down the viewer,” he said.

Result
The addition of Flash to an existing web site can significantly add to viewer interest, improve navigation, allow for interactivity, and most importantly, build your brand and even improve your image.

"While MillerWhite doesn’t advocate using Flash just for the sake of having animation, if it will increase viewer interest and the usefulness of the site, we’re happy to incorporate it into the design,” Yates said.