Cognetics - Portfolio - Thomas TREND

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Thomas TREND

Thomas Regional Industrial Buying Guides is the leading reference guide and directory of manufacturing facilities, distributors, and service providers in their regions. Cognetics and Thomas Regional Directory Company teamed up to create the first of 19 TREND (Thomas Regional Electronic Network Directory) releases, allowing a wide range of information and advertising options that link print and electronic media in new ways. The result of two years of work, the project took full advantage of new technology without compromising the value of printed directories.

"Cognetics was instrumental in executing the design concepts which evolved from this collaboration and they worked with our people. They helped ensure a very successful entry into the world of electronic publishing."

George Short, Vice President
Thomas Regional Directory Company, Inc.

Cognetics developed a system that allows Thomas Regional to display information within the CD-ROM according to specific criteria. Buyers can search by a wide range of topics – from company name or product type – to a more targeted search by type of company, brand, ISO certification, minority ownership and/or location.

Buyer's Guide CD-ROM

Fact Sheet

Interface and search engine programmed in Delphi
Target platform is a minimal Windows machine: 256 color, 640 x 480 screen
Includes video, tutorials and links to the web

In order to preserve the "browsing" value of print – where display advertising awakens buyers to potential suppliers they did not know to seek out – Cognetics created a "rolling billboard" approach to display. If a buyer specifies "fasteners," for instance, a list of suppliers along with full-color display advertising appears on the screen. The display ads rotate after 10 seconds.

In so doing, Cognetics and Thomas created an advertising positioning structure that may prove a model for CD-ROMs. Advertisers in TREND are offered a hierarchy of positioning options that allow them to control where, and when, their specific product offerings appear on the buyer’s screen. The more types of information (video, catalog, line card, etc.) an advertiser commits to provide, the more prominently the information is displayed. For example, a company that inserts a video, brochure and multiple listings will get a preferred position.

For Thomas, TREND amounts to a cultural expansion as well. Everything about the company, from sales to research and production, was geared to support the best practices of print publishing. Employees have literally invented new processes to sustain the value of print in the new electronic formats. Thomas’ production department is now simultaneously creating print and electronic ads, and everything about the Thomas environment supports both technologies.

For more information regarding TREND, Thomas Regional and Thomas Regional on CD-ROM, go to Thomas Regional on the Internet, or contact Thomas Regional at (212) 629-2100 or the Thomas Regional help desk at (212) 290-8723 (M-F 9am-8pm EST).

Interface Details

Search Results (screen) TREND allows the user to search for both specific products and particular companies. The user can also see headings that might be related to what they are searching for, giving them even more options.

Lists of Suppliers, with an Ad (screen) The resources that TREND provides can be vast and difficult to display easily and logically. With it's unique interface, TREND organizes all the information so the user can get what they need, fast.

Geographic Region Map (screen) Once the user has located a product or service they are interested in, they can narrow their search further--by company type, geographic location, trade name, and much more.