It all started with a brainstorming session with a potential new client. At the end of the meeting a small, puffy, blue cloud floated amongst a whiteboard wall jammed full of scribbles, sketches and diagrams -- many connected back-and-forth to the cloud by a series of energetic arrows.

That cloud was an unformed nugget of an idea that arose during a 4-hour discussion of sales cycles, decision-making processes and the evolution of how people interact with information. That cloud was the idea for a smartphone app.

For Heartland and Hawthorne Homes, it was exactly the type of forward-thinking they were looking for and an idea they could see revolutionizing the way they interact with new home buyers throughout the traditional buying process.

The project was kicked off in March with Strut working closely with Heartland and Hawthorne to map out the HomingDevice™ tool and ensure it was a valuable part of the home buying process and not just an app for app’s sake.

The free app allows home shoppers to create a profile for each home they visit, take photos using their phone and add comments for each room as they walk through. Users can rate each room and add homes to a “favourites” list. The app saves all the information and the buyer is then able to sort the homes using various criteria including price, area, size and ratings. HomingDevice also features integrated Google Maps to make it easy to locate presentation centres and show homes.

Taking advantage of the user database generated once a profile has been created, Strut will seamlessly integrate users’ information with an upcoming, revamped builder web site and another “top-secret” application for presentation centres, so that they have access to the information they have gathered on each home, no matter where they access their profile from.

The HomingDevice app comes preloaded with information on Heartland and Hawthorne homes, but users can manually add all the same information for any home they are considering, whether it be a new home from another builder, or a pre-owned home.

Available now for iPhone in the App Store, HomingDevice will soon be released for BlackBerry and Android.

Strut is currently in the early development stages of our second smartphone app that will definitely be a game-changer in another totally unrelated sector.

Strut Creative is very happy to welcome Tom Muir to our team as Director of Technology. A new position within Strut, Tom brings considerable media savvy and project management skills to head up our web department, pushing our interactive strategy and capabilities to the next level and beyond.

As an online media professional, writer and poet, Tom is constantly looking for ways to enhance his understanding of the processes of communications and the ways in which new media is changing the game of language. For over 8 years, Tom led a Calgary-based team of web professionals in the development and management of the Citytv broadcast network’s online properties including www.citytv.com, www.breakfasttelevision.ca, www.cityline.ca, and www.citynews.ca, across a variety of enterprise-class Content Management systems and services. 

Prior to joining Rogers Communications, Tom worked for a number of Calgary organizations including WordFest, a major literary festival where he played a fundamental role leading the children’s education program. He also ran his own communications company, Leaddeli Media, for a number of years, as well as co-founding and managing one of Calgary’s most successful literary magazines, fillingStation.

With a lot of late nights and weekends, dogged determination and the support of fantastic clients, suppliers and friends like you, Strut has not only survived over the last ten years, it has thrived.

From a spare bedroom and a couple of leased Macintoshes Strut has grown into one of the top creative and web shops in Calgary.

A heartfelt “thank you” from all of us at Strut Creative -- It wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Remembrance Day is seen by many as a time for paying respect to those who served during World War I and World War II, and as the veterans of those wars slowly pass away over the years, so does Canadians’ connection to the day – especially among the country’s youth.

One of the reasons for this is that the current conflicts do not directly affect Canada as did the earlier wars, so the Canadian Forces putting their lives on the line for peacekeeping missions are not always top-of-mind at this time of year.

Ironically, many of the men and women serving today in places like Afghanistan and Darfur, are much closer in age to MuchMusic’s viewers than the veterans often associated with Remembrance Day, so Much wanted to reconnect their audience with the purpose behind Remembrance Day as well as raise awareness of Veterans’ Week. Challenging viewers to, “Remember. Any way you want,” the spot focuses on social networking used to share thoughts and stories and to organize ways to remember those who have served and are currently serving overseas.

Strut took the script and fleshed it out – writing content for and creating the social networking graphics before animating them on-screen. The 30-second spot starts with a couple key messages before the posts, tweets and texts appear at an exponential rate to fill the screen and morph into a poppy against a black denim jacket. Ear Candy created a wonderful soundscape that builds throughout the spot to a cacophony of message alert bings, beeps, bells and whistles mixed with the sounds of marching soldiers and drill sergeants before ending with an emotional moment of silence.

Visit www.muchmusic.com/veterans to learn more about Canada’s veterans; complete a quiz to receive a free music download; and see playlists from some of the peacekeepers who have served, or are currently serving overseas.

For several years now, Strut Creative has worked with Tomali Productions to promote Tom Jackson’s Christmas concert series, Singing for Supper (formerly The Huron Carol).

Tom and his musical guests cross the country, performing in a series of fundraising concerts in support of the local food bank within each community where the event takes place. From November 20 through December 18, Tom will be joined by Shannon Gaye and the acoustic duo, Pear, to bring a little extra Christmas spirit to 18 cities and towns.

In conjunction with this year’s Singing for Supper concert series, Tom Jackson is releasing a new Christmas single entitled The Gift, that will be available for purchase at the concerts, with proceeds going to the local food banks.

Be sure to attend a concert near you, but if you can’t make it out, The Gift will also be available on iTunes.

For tour locations and dates, as well as more information, visit www.singingforsupper.ca