_Hugh Thompson is the publisher and owner of “Digital Home Canada”:http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/. He is a consultant with over 10 years of online experience working for advertising agencies, vendors and consulting directly with clients on maximizing ROI from web marketing and e-commerce initiatives. As a voice for the Canadian electronic consumer, Hugh is a frequent guest on radio and television programs across the country discussing the latest in consumer electronics and the business of convergence in the digital home._
*One Degree: Why did you start Digital Home Canada?*
Some guys like cars but my passion has always been computers and consumer electronics so I decided to create a website about the convergence of technology in the home.
*One Degree: Did you intend it to be money making venture and did you ever expect that it would become your full-time job?*
When I first created Digital Home, it was for my own enjoyment. Once Digital Home was up and running, I considered trying to turn it into a moneymaker however since it was just after 9/11 and the dot com bust, I decided against it!
For several years, Digital Home simply became a neglected hobby while I went about the business of earning a living and raising a young family.
During that time I actually shut the site down for a short period of time, however so many people emailed asking me to reconsider that finally in the Fall of 2004, I hooked up with “24/7 Canada”:http://www.247canada.com/ who agreed to provide advertising representation for Digital Home.
With advertising representation secure, I “re-launched” the site with new technology, new servers and a new approach.
In November 2004, Digital Home became a full-time endeavour for me.
*One Degree: How do people find out about your site – is most of your traffic from searchers or from regular community members?*
Category: Five Questions
_Alex Pejcic is the President & Co-Founder of Sonic Boom Creative Media Inc., an interactive agency in Toronto, Canada. For over ten years Alex has been a guiding force at the agency and provides strategic direction to clients including Citibank, Bell, Honda and Harry Rosen. Alex has also collaborated with many of Canada’s leading advertising agencies including Taxi, BBDO, GRIP and Grey in realizing profitable channel and integrated marketing opportunities for their clients._
*One Degree: Why “Sonic Boom”:http://www.sonicboom.com/ ?*
Sonic Boom is a tribute to a British musician of the same name who was in a band called “Spacemen 3”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacemen_3. As time progressed the name Sonic Boom took a life of its own for the agency. It stood for anticipation, reaction and impact which was demonstrated through our methodology, approach and ultimately results.
*One Degree: Sonic Boom is known for doing great “Flash”:http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/flashpro/ sites. Do you feel it is easy to get pigeonholed as a specialist shop based on the technologies you use on high profile projects?*
_Bill Sweetman, “a One Degree Contributor”:http://www.onedegree.ca/contributors/bill_sweetman “recently became”:http://www.onedegree.ca/2006/01/12/bill-sweetman-to-join-maclaren-mccann Vice President of Internet Strategy at “MacLaren McCann Direct & Interactive.”:http://www.maclaren.com/. Bill is one of the interactive marketing industry’s most respected authorities, and his innovative work over the last 15+ years has been recognized by numerous awards, including the prestigious Internet World Impact Award for Communications. Bill has overseen Internet marketing campaigns for companies such as Alliance Atlantis Communications, CBC, Dupont, Enbridge Gas Distribution, Harlequin Enterprises, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer Canada, and RBC Royal Bank._
*One Degree: Congratulations on the new role at MacLaren McCann Direct & Interactive! What made you move to a large agency after so many years of working on your own or in very small shops?*
There were many contributing factors to my decision, however the biggest one was that by joining MMDI I would have the opportunity to do way more of what I’m best at and enjoy, which is acting as a coach, resource, and devil’s advocate to lots of colleagues and clients. Although the role wasn’t created specifically for me, it sure felt that way, and that is why I leapt at the opportunity.
Over the years I had also come to realize that I missed the daily interaction with a group of people I would consider peers, and I had also grown tired of not having the client budgets or internal resources to act on the recommendations I would make to clients. There’s an amazing team at MacLaren McCann that can do just about anything, and it’s so wonderful to have that kind of engine at your fingertips.
*One Degree: Big agencies talk a lot about integrating strategies across channels but often struggle when it’s time to execute. How does MacLaren McCann approach this challenge?*