OTOlabs' director of marketing gives an insider look at how desktop screenmates work and how to develop a screenmate character for your brand.

A note from Executive Editor Gretchen Hyman: Today’s desktop applications story was written by Mitchel Ahern, director of product management at OTOlabs, a valued contributor to iMedia Connection. It's worth pointing out that at the time of publication, OTOlabs  is sponsoring this section, but Mitchel’s byline is in no way a part of that sponsorship. You can find a more detailed explanation of our editorial policy here or contact me directly with questions.

Screenmates are one of the original "beyond the browser" marketing technologies and the forerunner of branded desktop applications. In the beginning, they were simple and amusing, windowless animated characters that acted out a short scene right on the user's desktop, but they soon evolved into characters that stayed on the desktop and interacted with desktop elements and with the user.

Today, screenmate animations are often used to incorporate a fun, avatar-like element into complex, authenticated, multi-feed branded desktop applications. Similar animated avatars are now used to personalize the user experience in many different environments and platforms.

Writing as someone who has managed the production of many screenmate characters for many major brands, I'm going to share with you an inside look at how they work, how they are put together and tips to help you develop a screenmate character for your brand.

Super desktop powers
First and foremost, screenmates are animated desktop characters. They generally come with standard behaviors that include a walk cycle so that the character can perambulate the desktop, and sometimes they include climbing and even floating behaviors. Another typical standard behavior is the "drop" where the user "picks up" the character and then lets them go, at which point they float or fall to the bottom of the screen.

In addition to the standard behaviors, screenmates usually have a set of other things they do as well, generally referred to as user-selectable behaviors. Most screenmates allow the user to select these behaviors from a user interface or a right-click pop-up menu. They will also occur randomly when the screenmate is active on the user's desktop.

Screenmates are windowless, which means that they are not constrained by any kind of browser or window. In fact, a screenmate can interact with elements on the desktop, and it can even be designed to interact with content occurring on a web page. Indeed, the ability for the user to interact with a screenmate is key to making a screenmate fun.

Screenmate characters can also interact with external data feeds. For example, the Vail Resorts Trevvor screenmate character is driven by weather feeds. When it's snowing on the mountain, Trevvor will ski out and announce: "It's a powder day!" In addition, an animated screenmate snowfall in the bottom left of the screen will be turned on by the weather feed so that when it's snowing on the mountain, it's snowing on the user's desktop.

Screenmate monthly audiences can number in the hundreds of thousands, so it's important to keep the user experience fresh. New behaviors can be added to screenmates, even to those screenmate applications that are already on users' desktops.

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