MARINA DEL REY, Calif. - November 17th, 2010 – Guidance (www.guidance.com) which helps create captivating and engaging online experiences, is pleased to announce the launch of three Web sites for sbe Entertainment Group, the renowned Los Angeles-based hospitality and lifestyle company. The sites are for three of sbe’s properties – SLS Hotels (http://www.slshotels.com), The Bazaar by José Andrés (http://www.thebazaar.com), and Ciel Spa (http://www.cielatsls.com).
Built using Drupal CMS, Jquery, PHP, HTML, and Flash technologies, the sites were updated to facilitate content management and their overall maintenance on a weekly and as-needed basis. Their previous versions were built solely in Flash, which was costly and, at times, inefficient for sbe to maintain. Guidance’s branding strategists and creative artists worked with sbe’s marketing and technology teams to craft visually compelling, interactive designs and animations that retained the engaging and entertaining qualities of Flash without compromising functionality or user experience.
Guidance also built several modular content management areas that allow sbe’s marketing team to update the site’s promotional content and special announcements themselves. The new sites also feature reservation widgets to help streamline booking, and special landing pages for offers and daily promotions. Additionally, Guidance created a Drupal solution that provides a CMS framework to accommodate future sbe sites. Guidance also provided sbe’s marketing team with a Drupal CMS training session and support to help ease the renovation of their Web sites.
“Working with Guidance was a pleasure. Everyone had excellent follow-through skills and were very helpful in materializing our vision,” said Liane Haynes-Smith, Director of Sales and Marketing.” Guidance has been working with sbe since 2009, providing ongoing Web maintenance services for all of its divisions and properties, encompassing hotels, restaurants, nightlife, real estate and events. “We are thrilled to be sbe’s Web development firm of choice,” said Jason Meugniot, CEO of Guidance. “It is important for us to provide SBE – a brand that has been a staple of Southern California over the last decade – with superior sites that evoke their luxurious brand experience, while producing a strategic framework that would serve as a foundation for future sbe sites.”
For over two decades, Guidance has designed and built hundreds of successful Web sites for companies in a variety of industries including entertainment, retail, and consumer products. Clients include Foot Locker, Z Gallerie, Quark, One Hope Wine and Pollstar, among several others. To learn more about Guidance’s work, visit www.guidance.com.
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About Guidance
Since 1993, Guidance (www.guidance.com) has helped companies seize opportunities and solve problems through the innovative and practical use of technology. Guidance designs, builds and maintains eCommerce websites for retailers that are pure-play online or multi-channel – creating captivating experiences so consumers will buy more, come back often and value greater engagement with the retailer. Guidance's systems facilitate $500 million in online sales every year. Members of the Guidance team are seasoned professionals, passionately committed to providing technical leadership and powering ingenuity. Key clients include Foot Locker, GEARYS Beverly Hills, Relax the Back, Salvation Army, and many others. Partners include: Microsoft, Magento, AspDotNetStorefront, Mediachase and Telligent. Guidance is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.
About SBE Entertainment Group
Founded in 2002, Los Angeles-based sbe brings exquisite balance to the worlds of hospitality, real estate development and events. As a privately held company founded and helmed by CEO Sam Nazarian, sbe acquires, develops and manages exceptional projects through its divisions – Hotels, Restaurants, Nightlife, Real Estate & Events. With a mission to redefine standards of excellence and innovation, sbe has harnessed the creativity and innovation of the best minds in the business, including design visionary Philippe Starck, with whom the company has an exclusive agreement for the creation of hotels, restaurants and lounges in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Mexico. sbe’s Restaurant and Nightlife division constantly stays ahead of the curve, creating and expanding trendsetting restaurant and nightlife concepts, which currently include 4 Katsuya locations (Hollywood, Brentwood, Downtown at LA LIVE, Glendale), XIV by Michael Mina, The Bazaar by José Andrés, Cleo, Gladstones, MI-6, 3 Hyde Lounge locations (Hollywood, Staples Center, Mammoth Mountain), The Abbey Food & Bar, INDUSTRY and The Colony. As the cornerstone of its synergistic approach, sbe has also completely rethought and re-imagined the luxury hotel experience. sbe debuted its luxury hotel brand, SLS Hotels, with the Fall 2008 opening of SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel which has won international acclaim and numerous awards. Most recently, sbe launched it’s second hotel brand, The Redbury, located in the heart of Hollywood. Also in the sbe Hotel collection are Miami’s Ritz Plaza Hotel, Las Vegas’ Sahara Hotel & Casino and Four Points by Sheraton LAX. www.sbe.com.
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Media Contact for Guidance
Alejandra Espinosa
Director, PR & Marketing
Phone: (310) 754-4000
press@guidance.com
Press Release PDF: 20101117.pdf