VM CREATIVE (2002-2020)
VM Creative, a creative marketing studio known for its cutting-edge approach to blending interactive technology with proven storytelling techniques, passed away peacefully on New Year’s Eve, 2020 in Honolulu, Hawai’i. It was 18 years old.
The First Demo - MSN for TV
VM Creative was born in early 2002 in Seattle, the brainchild of Vance Martin (director/creative director, technologist, animator and visual storyteller). The scion of a family of creative companies that included Splash Studios, Livewire Interactive and Wirestone Seattle, VM Creative functioned at the intersection of video and interactivity, creating content experiences that helped leading brands engage more effectively with their audiences – and delivering results.
Window XP Media Center Edition
These experiences took the form of in-store interactive sales demos for Microsoft – with a first-of-its-kind metrics engine to track customer use; countless marketing videos that blended live action with motion graphics; innovative website design and production for a wide variety of clients; and innovative mobile apps for business and infotainment.
Windows Vista Launch Video
This latter category included the concept, design and production of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Road Rally” — Disney’s first interactive “appisode” for children, and for a time the most popular iPad app in the world.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Appisode
Throughout the years, VM Creative drew upon a deep pool of talent, creating best-of-breed teams of writers, designers, engineers, producers, composers and project managers both in Seattle and later in Honolulu. Its immersive, “deep dive” approach to understanding its clients’ marketing goals and strategies was widely recognized as one of its standout strengths in the creative agency space.
A Montage of Retail Demos
VM Creative is survived by its founder, Vance Martin; an extended family of key contributors that includes Stan Wentzel, Mike Williamson, Lauren Devillier, Ben Bauermeister, Angela Mansfield, Garret Veley, Loren Dutton, Steve Kodish, Kitty Ireland, Gen Reyes, Mike Gulden and Andrew Lantz.
Live Action and Animation Reel
Clients instrumental to its success include David Berett, Alex Barnett, Isolina Pommier, Bill Mannion, Sheri Sullivan, Bruce Hoffman, Robyn Fisher, Lorrin Maughan, Mark Pendergrast, Steve Westwood, Mark Malcolm, Shari Glusker, Bill Mannion, David Siroky, Gavriella Shuster, Mary Fastenau, Karen Andersen, and Suzanne Eugenio.
In lieu of flowers, friends of VM Creative are asked to always reach beyond the mundane, the easy and the obvious; and to remember that to find the right answers, one must first ask the right questions.
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