"Branded widgets are the refrigerator magnets of the digital age" "They hold the message, they're useful, they're cheap," - Richard Garfield

Mr. Garfield's point is a solid one, widgets carry branding and content in an easily distributed package. Many brands love the the large volume of content that can be included in a widget. Other brands love the organic ways widgets can be seeded and distributed through social networks. In either case, the widget retains its branded message while its placements spread virally through the digital community.

Affordable to create, at their core, widgets are small applications that can travel with branded content. The literal forefathers of the digital mashup, widgets are difficult to define precisely because they can take on nearly any shape, size or functionality. VM Foundry typically builds web widgets in Flash and Flex, using AS3 and converts desktop versions using Adobe Air.

What does a widget do?

Anything. Any content or functionality that is currently on a site or web application could be adapted into a content distribution role by incorporating it into a widget. The most popular widgets serve a dedicated purpose and are useful to a core group of followers.

Widgets integrate organically with social networks through platforms such as Gigya’s WildFire and Clearspring’s AddThis.

How can widgets help brands?

The most successful widgets provide a rich-media experience that is valuable to users and properly aligned with the brand standards. The NFL provides live NFL Draft updates, Publishers Clearing House had an interactive game with real prizes, Smirnoff provided free music videos and mp3 downloads from the Smirnoff Experience concert series. In the end, these widgets are successful because they provide value to individual users in a branded way that makes sense, rather than just using a rich-media advert telling users to follow on Facebook.

How do brands control widgets in the wild?

To use an example many people are familiar with, when posting a video from YouTube onto a blog, users grab an embed code provided by YouTube which loads a video player. The video hosting remains with YouTube, even though visitors can experience the video on another site.

Similarly, when a user grabs a widget they are really grabbing an embed code which, when placed on a page, calls files hosted by the brand or agency. Updating these source files instantly updates your widgets (and the content they distribute) simultaneously across all placements around the globe. As campaigns evolve, widgets can adapt and change easily.

Use this knowledge to seed the widget on pages where other campaigns drive traffic. The widget gets picked up like Mr. Garfield's fridge magnet and carried home with the users but in this age of analytics, the widget always reports back on its success.

How do brands measure widget success?

Widget messaging should drive a user to take a specific action and Flash tracking is offered by both Omniture Site Catalyst and Google Analytics to track those conversions.

Properly configured widgets offer all of the tracking of other rich-media services such as on click, video views and they can also report on where they have been placed and how users are interacting with them.

How can I find out more?

VM Foundry has been fortunate enough to work on widget projects with the NFL, Island Def Jam Records, Purdue Pharma, MLB, Hot Wheels and the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Contact us to find out how widgets can help social networking efforts and drive conversions for your brand.