Annual RES 10...

The four guys at Preloaded, a 2 year old design shop in London, seem to know where the internet is headed, post boom, now that it's novelty has worn off.

The ubiquitous medium has caused marketing professionals to salivate over its possibilities for years, but many of their attempts appear sadly naïve and misguided today. Preloaded on the other hand, has a truly unique approach that might actually last: create an online presence for a client that's also a destination.

In other words the company creates websites that are often more about the sites themselves than whatever they're promoting. And if the idea behind marketing is to hold the attention of potential customers for as long as possible, Preloaded routinely proves successful.

The companies site for Alive, a new juice a la Sunny Delight made by Coca-Cola, for example includes a variety of games and other diversion that surely inspire repeat visits. Imbued throughout the mouth watering, day-glo orange of artificial juice and the shape of the Alive's bottle, the site entertains as well as it advertises. "We're interested in creating something people can be engaged in, there's a strong focus on community".

But what earned the company rampant accolades is its site for Hammer & Tongs, the acclaimed British film and video directing firm. Visitors are taken by train to Tongsville, a virtual city in London's image, where they can learn about H&T by clicking on various buildings. At the movie theater, watch clips from their videos for bands such as R.E.M. and Blur; at the art museum, read the company's history via information cards beside the paintings; even rap with your fellow Tongvillians in the chatroom at the local bank.

Expanding their scope to include interactive TV project namely for MTV Europe, Preloaded say they are mainly interested in following technology where it leads. "We're staying digital. We're just shifting along as things progress".

And with collective backgrounds in film, design, fine art and business strategy, the Preloaded team is definitely equipped to keep up with that progression. What's more, it gives them endless opportunities to re-invent themselves, which for anyone working in technology mean survival.

Originally printed in RES Magazine, April 2002. Text by David Alm.