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Marketing Magazine, July 13, 1998

By Fawzia Sheikh

Self-analysis on the Web: The Room

Umbra Ltd., a global manufacturer of designer home accessories, will be taking interactivity on its Web site one step farther when it soon introduces an electronic-commerce component to www.umbra.com. The Toronto-based company, which will sell only a selection of its more than 1,000 SKUs, currently sells about 85% of its products south of the border and distributes the balance to Canadian retailers like William Ashley China and Urban Mode.

"We're probably going to start giving free mini-Web pages to some of our retailers," says Harlan Carere, director of marketing. The site, created by The James Gang of Toronto, is already receiving wide acclaim for its self-analysis game called "The Room," which leverages Umbra products. Users, who design a virtual room using a window, photo frames, clocks, garbage cans and music, then have their personalities analyzed based on these choices.

Visit: Archive of the original Room from 1997.

Visit: Renovated Room for 2003.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Franke James, The James Gang
416.256.9166
Email: franke@jamesgang.com