MGM Grand July 28, 2006 8 comments
I was passed along a message to have a look at the next trend in web site site development, MGMgrand.com. It looks nice sure, but what’s so special? At first I ignored everything on the home page & went straight for the main navigation. Loading messages everywhere, boxes sliding around, flash is so unfriendly. Several clicks later, I finally see some legitimate info I can try to digest.
Great, there’s photo tours that max out at 3 pics. I went back to the home page to see what I must be missing. Turns out to be the “Enter Maximum Vegas” button leading to a really slick video. That’s it.
Jody says the video “captures the experience”, hence the next big thing. I say, it’s merely a well produced video on the web. I’m led to believe it may be enjoyed by first time visitors to the site, if they can even find the thing, and that’s about it. Nothing terribly special.
jody #
In sane. Just wait til every marketing “genius” in every company on the planet sees that you can put kickass video into flash, and it’ll be old by then.
huphtur #
did dude make this at 2a?
fred #
2a was the first thing that came to my mind.
When I am looking for hotels/vacation spots.. be it vegas, disney, or montana.. a site like that is the last thing i want to see… yeah it looks good and the flash stuff is entertaining… but I need a clean cut standard site showing me pictures, info, price, and the book now on-line button.
the rest is useless.
dude #
have you ever been to vegas?
this is 100% vegas. notice how they don’t even show a picture of a slot machine. flash is perfect for las vegas marketing. they’re not looking for ease-of-use web stadards, they’re looking for stuff that looks flippin sweet and wows you without really telling you what you’re there for. just like walking down the strip.
r00ts #
I agree with you fred, if I where shopping for a hotel I would want the same info… BUT… you or I are not the demographic they are trying to hit with this site. people that will be staying at MGM have prob been to Vegas before and don’t care about price photos etc. they know what it is all about already. they are doing a good job of portraying MGM as more then a hotel, it’s an experience. I dunno if I would say it’s the ‘next big thing’ for the interweb. I think it is probably the best video I have ever seen in flash tho. one problem I have is the loading time. and if they are treating the ‘Enter Maximum Vegas’ as the ‘home’ area y hide the nav when I am on one of the interior pages? I have to ‘Enter Maximum Vegas’ (again) seems to me, you should show that nav all the time so users can ‘experience’ the site over and over.
Bill #
If they’re gonna awe me, don’t beat around the bush just come out swinging. The entire video should serve as the main site. They’ve already included navigation in various spots of the video and it even pauses at the section you left when you return. Sure, it’s difficult to notice as the whole thing plays out linearly anyway, but it kinda works.
However, they’ve spent all this time & energy but still offer up an undecipherable seating chart (right now it actually returns a 404 error).
They are clearly ignoring me & catering to the upper echelons. Maybe these people don’t have to try & find a decent seat at Cirque De Soleil, they have someone else do it for them?
haveboard #
It didnt load in FF for me, even with flash block turned off. In safari, it was just taking o long to load. I gave up. I’ll have to check it at work.
Martin Gauthier #
Thanks for putting our newest creation on your blog.
Please drop me an email if you happen to be in Montreal.
Martin Gauthier - Senior Partner, Diesel
mgauthier@dieselmarketing.com