The time to overthink whether to agree with the mission to create a clear brand promise, market position and complete branding for a premium range of Tomabel tomatoes was less then the average Bad Religion song. The Shtick came up with Nova and there was a good reason for that: a new star was born. This new specialty, high quality local product deserved a premium appearance to meet the expectations. Before drawing or designing anything, there was a long road ahead, filled with strategic analyses, workshops and brainstorm sessions. The result can be found in a store or supermarket near you. The cut-out for the package was inspired by the shape of a tomato slice and customised for the 7 different types of Tomatoes within the Nova range. 

The Sinksenfoor – one of Belgiums biggest and most notorious fair – was held on a brand new location for the first time in more than 15 years in 2015. The city of Antwerp made a big effort to turn this edition into a succes. Shtick was more than happy to be part of it. After winning a pitch against several other pencils and brushed, Shtick created a smart web-tool – optimised for desktop, tablet and smartphone – that helps you discover the brand new Sinksenfoor. Beside the regular information about the location and how to get there, an overview of the different events and rides, a custom map of the fairground was created. Using the GPS of your smartphone or tablet, the web-tool would locate you on the map and show you the directions to your favourite rides. On top of that you could create a to-do list in order to prepare your visit.

In 2015, over 30 000 people used the application, generating over 250 000 page views, during the 6 weeks of the fair. Fun fact: mobile was just a little bit higher (57%) than the use on desktop (43%) Even more heartwarming was the very low bounce rate (only 9%), which means more than 90% of the visitors who landed on the site actually used it. The Shtick was at it again in 2016 with an updated version of the web-app. The results were even better.

When you tell the employees at Manus they are very hands on they add another tally mark to the wall. Manus means hand in Latin and their logo is a hand. Not funny at all. Nobody told Steve Jobs that one per day would keep the doctor away, right? Bottom line: thou shall not make fun of a fine brand. When they needed a brand new website for their growing business in the social economy, The Shtick was there to be their helping h… almost.

Custom icons to point out the different services – handmade by The Shtick – were used on the website and will be used in several on- and offline derivatives.--

Hellegat is a locally brewed beer in Niel, Belgium. After brewer Olivier Opdebeeck successfully experimented with flavours in his garage, it was time to create a brand. [Enter The Shtick] [Thunderous applause] A fresh, modern look ‘n feel with a hint of authenticity was created. The name Hellegat is referring to a little hamlet in Niel, hometown of ancient brickmakers. Notice the gentle reference?

The current range of Hellegat beers contains a blonde, a brown and a tripel. It is served on several local occasions such as the fair in Niel. It’s not (yet) available for sale, only The Shtick has a little personal stock. In case of emergency.

The City of Antwerp asked us to build a mobile application to support the Born In Antwerp project – a city marketing campaign focused on creativity and innovation in the city of Antwerp. We felt this couldn’t result into yet another app nobody is waiting for..

There was a huge amount of content for the app: events, innovative creations from Antwerp, economic news, interesting facts about Antwerp, tourism tips, … In short: a lot of information for your brain. Our gut feeling told us we had to come up with a creative and innovative way for the user to discover this content AND to keep doing that. Especially that last one is a hard nut to crack.

We were asked to fit all these topics into one concept. The result was the birth of Bo: an interactive chat-bot.

Chat-bot Bo can suggest events, tell stories and even crack a joke every once in a while. Take a look at the piles of subjects that Bo can choose from. Users will not get the same story twice from Bo. He (or is it she?) turns every conversation into a unique experience.

It’s up to the user to delve deeper into a certain topic, or to dismiss topics that he or she does not care much for. Bo will listen and switch topics if needed, to please the user with more relevant topics. The more you talk with the bot, the smarter it gets. This approach turns the Born in Antwerp app into a personal chat experience.

This conversation is the heart of the UI/UX of the app. And this what makes app different and daring. The user doesn’t have to search or ask the app for information, the Born in Antwerp app suggests content to the user in the form of light-hearted conversation.

In the back-end, Bo gets smarter: if a user delves deeper into a certain conversation and shows interest for this information, Bo will give more weight to a number of predefined categories. The weight that is appointed to each category influences the next conversations and suggestions from Bo.

The Content Management System for the app is a custom made platform with endless possibilities for complex and endless conversations. We included as much rich media content as possible: the conversations contain images, GIFs, sound snippets, videos or external links. This makes the experience more diverse and appealing.

Because all talk but no play makes Bo a dull bot, we added a game section — fog of war included! Users can walk through the city and discover all kinds of innovative creations that were Born in Antwerp.

This content-based game quizzes users about sixty-something Antwerp creations. The user interacts with different gestures: drag and drop, sliding, phone tilting and so on. This keeps the gameplay playful. Your host Bo will show you around town and provides local info where needed.

A simple calendar overview of events is present as well, but is not (read: shall never be) the reason to download this (or any) app. A user has the option to RSVP on events, which triggers a local notification system that alerts the user when the event takes place. This is another mechanism to keep the app relevant and to encourage returning visits.

The app-analytics showcased a surprisingly high percentage of returning visitors and app re-opens, thanks to the emotional relation that was built with a person-like chat-bot. This was a must from the beginning. Our goal of not creating a one-time-experience app was achieved. On average, users spent over 2:40 minutes with the app per session.

While the world was talking about bots, the City of Antwerp was bold enough to let us actually build one. Big ups for the courage on their decision. We were very glad to be part of this journey. In October 2016, we were more than happy to receive a Golden MIXX Award in the category Best Mobile App for our work.