In the words of Robin Williams, "Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'" Sure, we're all still anxiously awaiting spring's arrival in the Midwest, but that's no reason to hold up the celebration. We're reveling over this month's Chain Store Age cover story, "Gen Y: Wake-Up Call for Retailers," featuring our exclusive insights into the preferences and proclivities of the millennial generation. We're embracing our emo and smashing down old web sites in rock star style, going down under for a brand refresh—we're even on spring break in South Beach. So shake off what little's left of winter and join the festivities! After extensive customer interviews and live-site usability testing, we learned that Hot Topic's digital millennial consumers are after more than a look, but a lifestyle. To appeal to its diverse audience and create a smoother user flow, Shop by Brand and by Band were enabled prominently on the home page, along with improved labeling and a newly established site hierarchy. Streaming audio extended the brand's music message while community pages—millennials' lifelines—were made more engaging and interactive. To unveil the new and improved site, technologies like Flash 8 Video, AfterEffects and JavaScript were leveraged to enable a viral, video game-inspired guitar smash overlay. Satisfy your appetite for destruction at http://www.hottopic.com/. We introduced this P&G hair care brand's updated look and feel with a newly designed web site and online advertisements to drive them there. In true integrated style, we collaborated with TV, print and in-store initiatives to help sculpt a holistic brand experience. Built as a Flash 8/HTML hybrid for optimized searchability, the new site transitions Aussie's loyal set via a product selector while breaking new consumer ground with sign-ups for free loot. Further Aussie features include a Facebook page and the Textmania! Contest, a text-centered mobile scavenger hunt. Add Some 'Roo to Your 'Do® at www.aussie.com.		Resource Interactive took home two Gold ADDYs from the Advertising Federation of Columbus (Adfed). We received highest honors for our very own newly redesigned web site, http://www.resource.com/ and our 2005 holiday-themed e-greeting, Miracle on Front Street.
	Our site redesign for Victoria's Secret PINK exudes the energy and optimism of this youthful brand. We colored a bit outside the lines using advanced action scripting in Flash, custom classes for sound fade-ins and the layering of rich graphics to create a free-flowing, truly tactile site experience with features that speak directly to the collegiate consumer. At center stage is VS PINK's Rally at the Raleigh—the brand's spring break blowout in South Beach—featuring a PINK spring break packlist, an exclusive playlist through iTunes and celebrity sightings from the big bash. Video and photo highlights uploaded by the hour offer those further inland a peek into the party. Add photo-upload and e-card capabilities and you have a highly interactive and undeniably PINK experience. Stop by to see the world through PINK-colored glasses at http://www.vspink.com/. Joining Resource as Executive Studio Director, Tracy Benson is a dynamic multichannel retail veteran specializing in interactive marketing and e-commerce for more than a decade. Tracy also brings real-world experience as a specialty-store entrepreneur and earned her big-box chops in store management and merchandising during a six-year stint with Home Depot. Most recently Client Director at aQuantive's AvenueA | Razorfish in Chicago, this avid Cubs fan brings her strategic understanding of the online channel and consumer behavior—not to mention a love of client relationships—to our retail studio. Welcome her (and her dog, Jake) to Resource at tbenson@resource.com. Our Associate Creative Director, Mark Hillman, will bring his online marketing and advertising expertise to OMMA Hollywood March 19 as part of a session titled, "Creative That Makes Friends with Social Networks." In April he'll be back on the road to engage in a panel discussion at WOMMA's WOMBAT in New Orleans: "How to Use YouTube as an Effective Marketing Tool."