Ripley’s Launches New Content-Rich Web Site

October 6, 2006; 02:27 AM
Ripley Entertainment Inc., owners of the world-famous Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brand, has launched an innovative and entertaining web site, www.ripleys.com. The new site features inventive content-delivery technology, interactive discovery, and exciting enhancements that help visitors easily navigate the online world of Ripley’s.

“The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brand has always celebrated the truly amazing discoveries of the world, and our new website is no exception,” said Steve Glum, vice president of marketing for Ripley Entertainment. “Our new web experience carries the same Believe It or Not! feel people expect from Ripley’s; it’s chock-full of content and discovery yet functions with ease for those solely interested in information gathering.”

Designed to harness and deliver the vast amount of truly strange and bizarre content Ripley’s has amassed over decades, the site stays fresh and updated for frequent and heavy users. Ripleys.com allows visitors to quickly and easily locate the latest and greatest Believe It or Not! photos, stories, videos, daily cartoons, “Inside the Vault” video clips, exhibits, Ripley Retro Radio streaming audio, on-demand radio vignettes, “Did You Know?” facts, and contests.

It also features “Zon8” fan-only areas, fan-generated content areas, and the latest company news, franchise information, and attractions locations. Future iterations of the website will include e-commerce areas, including an online retail shop and a “BUY TICKETS” section, whereby visitors to the site can buy admission tickets online to a number of Ripley attractions worldwide.

“The site posed significant design opportunities and challenges for us - since it needed to be both easy-to-use and elicit the feeling of exploration that is central to Ripley’s brand. To do that, we enlisted the help of a great team of innovators, designers and content delivery specialists,” noted Glum.

Ripley’s brought in the Catalyst-Agency and JRVisuals, both from New York, to collaborate and develop a revolutionary new interface - a large wheel that serves both as the site’s primary navigation, and also the central element of the discovery process. This interface allows users to cycle through an infinite amount of content in a fun and easy fashion.

Steve Kane of Catalyst-Agency commented, "This site represents the very latest thinking on the web. Using cutting-edge technology, it’s really a hybrid of a community-based website and an interactive experience. We are using the latest Adobe design and development suites in concert with Web2.0 features such as XML, AJAX, and streaming media services. You haven’t seen anything like this before."

"We’re just getting warmed up. We've been hard at work pushing the limits and embedding some very cool things in the site - more hidden content, Easter eggs, games, other things that haven’t been done before, at least not in this fashion,” adds Glum.

For more information visit www.ripleys.com.

ABOUT RIPLEY ENTERTAINMENT: Ripley Entertainment, Inc. is a leading global attractions company with annual attendance of nearly 13 million guests. In addition to its 50-plus attractions, the Orlando-based company has publishing and broadcast divisions that oversee projects including the global syndicated Believe it or Not! television show, best selling books, and the popular syndicated comic strip. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada.

ABOUT CATALYST: Founded in 1999, Catalyst provides true integrated media campaigns and business solutions using a unique hybrid of traditional advertising and digital media. Catalyst specializes in developing fresh, innovative brand messaging, marketing strategies, product launches and integrated media projects, providing solutions for many of the world's top brands including Compaq, Ingersoll-Rand, Ralph Lauren, Sunbeam and USA Networks.

ABOUT JRVisuals: Founded in 1999, JRVisuals is a full-service multimedia design and development studio specializing in rich media, online games, corporate presentations, creative & technical consultation, and application development. JRVisuals, an official Adobe Solutions Partner, has clients including 4KIDS Productions, American Express, Chevrolet, IMB, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, SAP, and TIME Inc.