We are the digital agency
crafting brand experiences
for the modern audience.
We are Fame Foundry.

See our work. Read the Fame Foundry magazine.

We love our clients.

Fame Foundry seeks out bold brands that wish to engage their public in sincere, evocative ways.


WorkWeb DesignSportsEvents

Platforms for racing in the 21st century.

Fame Foundry puts the racing experience in front of millions of fans, steering motorsports to the modern age.

“Fame Foundry created something never seen before, allowing members to interact in new ways and providing them a central location to call their own. It also provides more value to our sponsors than we have ever had before.”

—Ryan Newman

Technology on the track.

Providing more than just web software, our management systems enhance and reinforce a variety of services by different racing organizations which work to evolve the speed, efficiency, and safety measures, aiding their process from lab to checkered flag.

WorkWeb DesignRetail

Setting the pace across 44 states.

With over 1100 locations, thousands of products, and millions of transactions, Shoe Show creates a substantial retail footprint in shoe sales.

The sole of superior choice.

With over 1100 locations, thousands of products, and millions of transactions, Shoe Show creates a substantial retail footprint in shoe sales.

WorkWeb DesignRetail

The contemporary online pharmacy.

Medichest sets a new standard, bringing the boutique experience to the drug store.

Integrated & Automated Marketing System

All the extensive opportunities for public engagement are made easily definable and effortlessly automated.

Scheduled promotions, sales, and campaigns, all precisely targeted for specific demographics within the whole of the Medichest audience.

WorkWeb DesignSocial

Home Design & Decor Magazine offers readers superior content on designer home trends on any device.


  • By selectively curating the very best from their individual markets, each localized catalog comes to exhibit the trending, pertinent visual flavors specific to each region.


  • Beside the swaths of inspirational home photography spreads, Home Design & Decor provides exhaustive articles and advice by proven professionals in home design.


  • The art of home ingenuity always dances between the timeless and the experimental. The very best in these intersecting principles offer consistent sources of modern innovation.

WorkWeb DesignSocial

  • Post a need on behalf of yourself, a family member or your community group, whether you need volunteers or funds to support your cause.


  • Search by location, expertise and date, and connect with people in your very own community who need your time and talents.


  • Start your own Neighborhood or Group Page and create a virtual hub where you can connect and converse about the things that matter most to you.

December 2016
By Kimberly Barnes

Going the Distance: Four Ways to Build a Better Customer Loyalty Program for Your Brand

Loyalty programs are no longer a novelty. That means that yesterday’s strategies won’t work moving forward, so look for ways to rise above the noise, setting yourself apart from the cloying drone of countless other cookie-cutter programs.
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Going the Distance: Four Ways to Build a Better Customer Loyalty Program for Your Brand

article-thedistance-lg It’s easy enough for a customer to join your loyalty program, especially when you’re offering an incentive such as discounts. All your customer has to do is give out some basic information, and voila! They’re in the fold, a brand new loyalty member with your company. From there, it’s happily ever after. You offer the perks; they stand solidly by you, bringing you their continued business. Simple. Or is it? In reality, just how many of those customers are act ively participating in your loyalty program? Do you know? Sure, loyalty program memberships are on the rise according to market research company eMarketer, having jumped 25 percent in the space of just two years. However, that figure may be a bit misleading. The truth is that, while loyalty program sign-ups may be more numerous, active participation in such programs is actually in decline. At the time of the study, the average US household had memberships in 29 loyalty programs; yet consumers were only active in 12 of those. That’s just 41 percent. And even that meager figure represents a drop of 2 percentage points per year over each of the preceding four years, according to a study by loyalty-marketing research company COLLOQUY.

When discounts just aren’t enough

So what’s a brand to do? How can you make your loyalty program worth your customer’s while—as well as your own? After all, gaining a new loyalty member doesn’t mean much if your customer isn’t actively participating in your program. Consider this: Does your customer loyalty program offer members anything different from what your competitors are offering? Chances are your program includes discounts. That’s a given. And what customer doesn’t appreciate a good discount? But when every other company out there is providing this staple benefit in comparable amounts, it becomes less and less likely that customers will remain loyal to any one particular brand. Frankly, it’s all too easy for customers to get lost in a sea of loyalty member discounts. They’re everywhere. In fact, just under half of internet users perceive that all rewards programs are alike, according to a 2015 eMarketer survey. The key to success, then, is to differentiate your business from the crowd. If you can offer your customers something unique and valuable beyond the usual discount, chances are they’ll be more likely to stick with your brand. Here’s some inspiration from companies who get it.

Virgin: Reward more purchases with more benefits.

That’s not to say you need to get rid of discounts entirely. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Customers still love a good discount. The goal is to be creative in terms of the loyalty perks you offer. Take the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, for example. As part of its loyalty program, the airline allows members to earn miles and tier points. Members are inducted at the Club Red tier, from which they can move up to Club Silver and then Club Gold. Here, it’s not just a discount. It’s status. And people respond to feeling important, elite. Still, even where the rewards themselves are concerned, Virgin is motivating loyalty customers with some pretty attractive offers. At the Club Red tier, members earn flight miles and receive discounts on rental cars, airport parking, hotels and holiday flights. But as members rise in tiers, they get even more. At the Club Silver tier, members earn 50 percent more points on flights, access to expedited check-in, and priority standby seating. And once they reach the top, Club Gold members receive double miles, priority boarding and access to exclusive clubhouses where they can get a drink or a massage before their flight. Now that’s some serious incentive to keep coming back for more. Discounts are still part of the equation – but they are designed with innovation and personal value in mind, elevating them to more than just savings.

Amazon Prime: Pay upfront and become a VIP.

What if your customers only had to pay a one-time upfront fee to get a year’s worth of substantial benefits? It may not sound like the smartest business idea at first glance. But take a closer look. Amazon Prime users pay a nominal $99 a year to gain free, two-day shipping on millions of products with no minimum purchase. And that’s just one benefit of going Prime. It’s true that Amazon loses $1-2 billion a year on Prime. This comes as no surprise given the incredible value the program offers. But get this: Amazon makes up for its losses in markedly higher transaction frequency. Specifically, Prime members spend an average of $1,500 a year on Amazon.com, compared with $625 spent by non-Prime users, a ccording to a 2015 report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

Patagonia: Cater to customer values.

Sometimes, the draw for consumers isn’t saving money or getting a great deal. The eco-friendly outdoor clothing company Patagonia figured this out back in 2011, when it partnered with eBay to launch its Common Threads Initiative: a program that allows customers to resell their used Patagonia clothing via the company’s website. Why is this program important to customers? And how does it benefit Patagonia? The company’s brand embraces environmental and social responsibility, so it was only fitting that they create a platform for essentially recycling old clothing rather than merely throwing it away. The Common Threads Initiative helps Patagonia build a memorable brand and fierce loyalty by offering its customers a cause that aligns with deep personal values. OK, so their customers get to make a little money, too. Everybody wins.

American Airlines: Gamify your loyalty program.

If you’re going to offer your customers a loyalty program, why not make it f un? After all, engagement is key to building a strong relationship with your customer. And what better way to achieve that goal than making a game of it. American Airlines had this very thing in mind when it created its AAdvantage Passport Challenge following its merger with USAirways. The goal: find a new way to engage customers as big changes were underway. Using a custom Facebook application, American Airlines created a virtual passport to increase brand awareness while offering members a chance to earn bonus points. Customers earned these rewards through a variety of game-like activities, from answering trivia questions to tracking travel through a personalized dashboard. In the end, participants earned more than 70 percent more stamps than expected – and the airline saw a ROI of more than 500 percent. The takeaway: people like games.

Stand out from the crowd.

Your approach to your customer loyalty program should align with your overall marketing approach. Effective branding is about standing out, not blending it. Being memorable is key. To this end, keep in mind that loyalty programs are no longer a novelty. That means that yesterday’s strategies won’t work moving forward, so look for ways to rise above the noise, setting yourself apart from the cloying drone of countless other cookie-cutter programs.


555 Yelp me, Rhonda!

With more than 32 million users per month, Yelp is playing an increasingly important role in reputation-building for today's brands.

June 2021
Noted By Joe Bauldoff

The Making and Maintenance of our Open Source Infrastructure

In this video, Nadia Eghbal, author of “Working in Public”, discusses the potential of open source developer communities, and looks for ways to reframe the significance of software stewardship in light of how the march of time constantly and inevitably works to pull these valuable resources back into entropy and obsolescence. Presented by the Long Now Foundation.
Watch on YouTube

June 2016
By Jeremy Girard

Small Changes, Big Impact: 5 Things You Can (and Should!) Do Today to Boost Your Website’s Performance

There’s no time like the present to implement these quick fixes and reap the rewards for months to come.
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Small Changes, Big Impact: 5 Things You Can (and Should!) Do Today to Boost Your Website’s Performance

artice-smallchanges-lg Every spring it happens like clockwork: the temperatures get warmer, the days get longer and everything in nature becomes more vibrant and colorful. Along with these changes in the great outdoors comes the irresistible urge to clean house and embrace a fresh start. Why not keep that motivational momentum going and apply it to your business – and, more specifically, to your website – as well? After all, there’s no time like the present to sweep away the old and outdated and bring in fresh new ideas and technologies. But you don’t necessarily need to dive head-first into a full redesign and all of the time and expense that entails to reap measurable results. Instead, here are five small steps you can – and should! – take today to ensure that your site is up-to-date, relevant and doing all it can to bring you new customers and grow the community around your brand:

1. Reposition your contact form.

For most website owners – especially those in service-based businesses such as law, accounting, consulting, real estate, etc. – the key “win” for their site is when it motivates a visitor to request more information or schedule a meeting. Contact forms are a ubiquitous website staple intended to provide a convenient – and highly measurable – avenue to initiate communication between an interested prospect and a company. However, perhaps because they are so commonplace, all too often these forms are given little strategic thought, resulting in a cookie-cutter name/email address/phone number format that yields more bogus spam submissions than legitimate new business opportunities. However, there is one simple change you can make that has been shown to get better results: reposition your standard “Contact us” form as an “Ask our experts” feature. By doing so, you shift the focus of the form to providing your visitors with an opportunity to submit a question that is specific to their needs and concerns. Rather than feeling like they are opening themselves up to an endless barrage of solicitation calls and emails, your visitors will sense that they are initiating a dialogue with an expert who will help them solve their particular problem. Make sure to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours, provide helpful advice that is free of charge and tailored to your prospect’s situation, and leave the door open to continue the conversation in a future meeting or phone call. By doing so, you will establish an important foundation of trust and confidence with your potential new client that will make them more inclined to engage your professional services. expert I have personally seen the submission rates on these types of forms increase dramatically. On one site where this small change was implemented, form submissions jumped from one or two per week to one or two per day – all legitimate business opportunities that were sparked simply by repositioning the focus of the form.

2. Productize your offering.

Another challenge that professional services organizations face in creating a website that works as an effective customer conversion engine is that they do not sell a specific product but rather a suite of services that can be customized to each client’s specific needs. This makes it terribly hard to market to visitors who come to their site and simply want to know “What exactly does this company sell, and how much does it cost?”. Because there are so many variables to the company’s offerings, there is not a quick and easy answer to these questions. If this challenge sounds familiar to you, one approach you can try is to “productize” what you have to offer. Create a bundle of services with a fixed price, and market that package on your site in a simple, straightforward manner that makes your offering easy to understand and helps visitors feel like doing business with your company is as simple as buying a product off the shelf at a store. package This is exactly what my company did with some of the technology consulting services that we offer. Instead of only listing the array of services we provide, we also created a product that representing a very specific offering. This made it so much easier to answer the “What do you sell?” question, and it gave us something tangible to promote in our marketing campaigns. In reality, this approach in no way limited the range of services we are able to offer our clients; rather, it merely served as a vehicle to open doors to new opportunities and made it easier to start conversations with new customers for whom we could ultimately provide a custom-tailored solution. Examine the services that you offer, and work with your marketing team to create an appealing package that you can market – understanding all the while that this “product” is really just a means for you to connect with customers and begin the sales process with something tangible that they can easily understand.

3. Lose your home page carousel.

One simple change that I have seen many websites make in the past year or so is to remove animated image carousels from their home pages. These carousels have long been a popular fixture of website design, but the reality is that they can sometimes do more harm than good. Home page carousels typically feature giant, screen-spanning images which carry with them heavy download requirements both for the images and for the scripts that power the animation sequences, thereby creating a potential stumbling block in performance for users on mobile devices or with slower connections. Additionally, studies have shown that click-through rates on animated carousels are extremely low, and they drop significantly from the first slide to the subsequent ones. This is why many companies are replacing rotating carousels with a singular static message instead. This one change can greatly reduce a page’s download size (when my company did this on our home page, its file size decreased by 75 percent) while having little to no effect on actual user engagement or click-through. In fact, because the page now loads more quickly, many sites actually see an uptick in user engagement because fewer people are abandoning a site due to poor performance. image Do you have a carousel on your website? If so, do you know whether or not it is working well for you? Your marketing team may be able to do some A/B testing between a version of your site with this animation feature and one without it to see which performs better. Since carousels do work well for some sites (like news organizations or sites with lots of frequently updated content), having this data can help you determine whether or not it’s time to ditch the carousel.

4. Update your image(s).

Stock photography is something of a necessary evil of website design, as more often than not, companies don’t have the budget to execute a full-fledged custom professional photo shoot. However, not all stock images are created equal. Stock photos that are overused or that look so obviously staged that they scream of their “stockiness” can cheapen a site’s design and leave visitors with a negative overall impression of the site. Replacing those images can make a big difference in a site’s visual appeal. If your site’s imagery is stale, you can make some simple image swaps to freshen it up. If you are going to change out old stock images for new stock images, make sure to seek out photos that feel fresh and that are not terribly overused (most stock photo sites will tell you how many times an image has been downloaded). An even better option is to try to add some unique imagery to your site. This could be photographs that you hire a professional to take or – in keeping with one of this year’s hottest trends – custom illustrations that you commission from an artist. illustration If your budget is tight, incorporating even just one or two such one-of-a-kind images in key spots on your site can really boost its visual impact. For instance, if you lose that aforementioned carousel on the home page and replace it with one truly compelling static image and message, it can make a really powerful first impression on your visitors.

5. Publish less.

Most experts agree that publishing original, value-add content on your site on a regular basis is key to optimizing its success – both from a sales and marketing standpoint and as an advantage in the never-ending battle of SEO. While I agree with this approach in principal, for many companies, the drive to publish regularly has resulted in putting out mediocre content simply to meet an inflexible standard of frequency. This is often an entirely counterproductive effort, as content that lacks in quality, original thought or value for the reader reflects poorly on the organization and its perceived level of expertise. Publishing original content to your site on a regular basis is still a best practice, but that content must offer value for it to succeed. Let’s say a visitor comes to your site and is impressed to find that you publish new articles weekly or monthly; however, once they click through the headline to see what they can glean from your writing, if what they find is mediocre at best, what motivation do they have to return to your site again in the future, let alone entrust you with their hard-earned dollars? If, on the other hand, you publish new content less frequently, but everything you produce is of the highest quality, then that same visitor will know that the time they spend on your site will always be worth their while, and they will look forward to the next time you post something new. Re-examine your current content marketing strategy, and ask yourself whether you are focused on quality or frequency. If it’s the latter, commit instead to writing less but to improving the quality of what you offer on your site. While this change may not have an immediate impact, it will absolutely yield long-term results that your visitors will appreciate and respond positively to.

In closing

Eventually, your website will need a redesign, but in the meantime you can make small, strategic, surgical changes that will pay immediate dividends in your site’s success. This approach of implementing gradual but regular modifications will also benefit you when it does come time for that full redesign. By making intelligent improvements over time, you will ultimately be closer to your end goal, leaving less to accomplish with the redesign and thereby paving the way for a smoother and less costly project.
October 2010
By The Author

Death by Liking

If people don't hate you, you're doing something wrong.
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Death by Liking

outofbusiness What if you create a good product that everyone likes? What if you keep feeding the demand by making more and more of that product? What if you maintain this endless rinse-and-repeat cycle with what you know works? What if you never stray from the safety of the familiar? How could you not be successful?

Blockbuster brands

Simple math will tell you that you will be successful for awhile – years, even – if enough people like your brand. Therein lies the problem: people like your brand. They choose your product when it's convenient for them. They tolerate it in the absence of a more appealing option. But what happens when you hit a bump in the road? What happens when a new competitor arrives on the scene? What happens when they realize they can live without you? Let's ask Blockbuster, shall we? For years, it was smooth sailing for Blockbuster. At the height of their success, there was a store on practically every street corner. People went there as a course of habit. Going to Blockbuster to rent a movie became as deeply ingrained in our routines as going to the grocery store or the dry cleaner. And it was good to be Blockbuster. blockbuster_closingThat is, until Netflix happened. Suddenly, the idea of driving to a store and paying $4 to rent a movie for a few days didn't seem like such a nice convenience. Driving it back to the store according to Blockbuster's timetable wasn't so tolerable. People discovered they didn't like Blockbuster quite as much as they thought they did. One by one, the once ubiquitous blue and yellow signs started disappearing. No one cheered their departure. And no one felt the sting of their absence.

Apple brands

What if you create a product that some people love? What if those people tell everyone who will listen how great your product is? What if they are willing to seek out your product even when they have to pay more or drive farther to get it? What if they still choose your brand even when someone else comes along with an alternative that is cheaper, newer and flashier? The flip side of that coin is that there will be people who hate you. They'll align themselves with other people who share their hatred. Hating you will become their rallying cry. How do you survive when you've polarized the market? Ask McDonald's. Ask Starbucks. Ask Apple. Hardly anyone is just lukewarm about their fast food preference. For everyone who must have a regular Big Mac fix, there's someone else who will gladly give you an earful about why Wendy's is a far superior choice and they'll never set foot within 100 yards of a McDonald's. You could stage a re-enactment of West Side Story with the Jets who take pride in bearing the white cup with the green seal and the Sharks who feel their own smug sense of self-satisfaction in sporting the nondescript cup from the locally owned corner coffee shop. For everyone who evangelizes for Apple, there's someone on another message board tearing them to shreds. love_hate_apple You don't even have to be a computer geek to have a dog in this fight. There's a reason the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ad campaign resonated with people on both sides of the aisle. If you're a Mac, you're a Mac through and through, and you probably own an iPhone and an iPod, too. The Apple brand is part of your identity.

Make waves or drown treading water

Doing things as they've always been done is comfortable and safe. You're not going to offend anyone. But you're not going to inspire anyone, either. Everyone who likes you one day can be gone the next. But people who love you stand by you. In every industry and in every market, there is the opportunity to be a revolutionary. You don't have to invent the next iPad. You might just develop a network of trustworthy, reliable home maintenance professionals that can be reached with one call to one phone number and dispatched to solve any problem that might arise. You might start a car-buying concierge service that saves your clients the hassle and guesswork of negotiating a car deal. You might bring an authentic 24-hour French bakery and cafe to a mid-sized southern city. Everyone who likes you one day can be gone the next. But people who love you stand by you. Give the tribe of people who share a passion for what you do something meaningful to rally around. Show them that you understand them and you care about meeting their needs. Draw a line in the sand. Demonstrate what you stand for. Be equally proud of what you are and what you are not. Be bold. Be unapologetic. Be arrogant if that's what it takes. It shows passion. It shows conviction. It's better than being imminently forgettable. Let go of the safety net of liking. Make waves of love and hate. You'll make the choice for your customers an easy one every time.
February 2013
By Andy Beth Miller

Your Brand: A Love Story

The difference between a brand that customers like and a brand that customers love? It’s the human element.
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Your Brand: A Love Story

love-story-article

There are people who use a phone, and there are people who carry their phone like a badge of honor. There are people who drink coffee, and there are people whose coffee cup is an extension of their self. There are people who drive a car to get from point A to point B, and there are people for whom their hood ornament is crest they’re proud to bear.

What’s the difference? It all comes down to love.

The love story between the world’s most popular brands and their customers starts just like any other: it’s a story of people coming together over shared passions.

You see, today’s social media era has stripped away the barriers that once separated companies from their customers. Whereas yesterday’s traditional media outlets maintained tyrannical control over the flow of information and ideas, social media has paved the way for a genuine exchange of two-way communication.

In this new paradigm, the public has no affection for the face of corporate America. Instead, today’s customers expect the companies they do business with to be human and to exhibit all of the qualities inherent in human relationships – transparency, respect, conscientiousness, kindness, trust, generosity and the like.

As a result, to succeed in this brave new world of business, you must stop relating to your customers as a company and start relating to them on a human level.

Here are four key principals to humanize your company and build a brand your customers will fall in love with:

Open the dialog.

Social media is your means to bridge the gap between the market and the masses. But of course, it’s not enough just to be present on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like. You must be an active participant in the communities where your tribe lives, and you must mold your participation in ways that humanize your brand and break through the barriers to gaining trust.

You must put as much effort into listening and responding as you do into putting your own content out into the world. You must prove that you serve at the pleasure of your customers, not the other way around.

For example, on Twitter, it’s a good idea to allow trusted employees to have individual accounts that they can use to respond to customers on the company’s behalf, as opposed to maintaining a singular universal company brand account without a name or face attached to it.

Also, consider hosting chats, forums or webinar sessions where customers and colleagues in the industry can log in and connect with your company in real time, creating an environment of open communication and fostering feelings of trust and likability.

Commit and admit.

Nothing earns trust in human relationships more than sincerity and the willingness to admit when you’re wrong.

The relationship between your company and its customers is no different. To survive in today’s 24/7 world of accessibility and accountability, you must commit to 100 percent transparency.

That pledge is easy to uphold when times are good. When you’re proud of the things you and your employees are doing, it’s a pleasure to speak openly about them.

But you also must be willing to publicly accept responsibility when you fall short, make a mistake or fail to satisfy a customer. More importantly, you must take the initiative to make concrete changes that will set you apart from competitors that are content to languish in the status quo of corporatism.

Starbucks is a shining example of this customer-centered commitment to transparency. Whenever a customer is displeased, no matter the reason, they are either given a gift certificate for their next visit or their order is remade on the spot with no questions asked. By adopting this policy of open communication, Starbucks has created a strong sense of community and respect where customers feel their voices are heard and their business is appreciated – and, in turn, they reward the company with their undying loyalty and evangelism.

Pull back the curtain.

When it comes to relating to customers, company owners can no long play the role of the great and powerful Oz, tucked away safely behind the curtain of PR flacks who run interference to preserve some carefully polished (if somewhat phony) image.

By allowing greater accessibility, the company CEO can easily become the friendly face of the brand.

Perhaps the epitome of infusing personality into the promotion of products are the dynamic duo of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield – the masterminds behind Ben & Jerry’s. The company’s about page relates the “long, strange dip” of two very real people from humble beginnings who became a worldwide ice cream success story. They’re hardly your typical buttoned-up, suit-and-tie-clad CEOs, but they are 100 percent authentic, and their customers recognize and reward their lack of pretense or posturing.

Surround yourself with a trustworthy (and trust-building) team.

The responsibility for putting a good face on the company isn’t relegated to the C-suite; it’s up to every employee to gain and maintain the trust of the customer.

When you can show that it’s not just the owner or the board of directors or the marketing department that toe the company line but that every single employee at every level of the company stands for the same set of core values, your customers will respond favorably and be inspired to become an advocate for your brand.

Many savvy companies that have embraced this new reality have adopted an open-door policy to using social media. Whole Foods Market is a great example of this community-minded, team-based approach. The entire company, along with its employees, take an active role in promoting environmental and humanitarian causes via social media networks. As a result, Whole Foods’ customers value not only the products they sell but the people behind the brand, and in turn, they do what they can to help promote a company with a conscience that puts people ahead of profits.