Mobile Web Apps, Big Data & Static Websites for Stand Up To Cancer
Our relationship with Stand Up To Cancer goes way back and allowed us to collaborate with them on a bunch of unique projects.
Stand Up To Lung Cancer
We created a responsive site to accommodate this campaign against lung cancer, with searchability for clinical trials and an embedded PSA video with actor Tony Goldwyn, viewable in the browser.
Siemens / Bass the Baton
SU2C and Siemens already had a Facebook app in place for their "Baton Pass" fundraising campaign, but they want our help to make it easier for users to "pass the baton" and for them to track/count baton passes.
We created a responsive site for passing the baton, and an admin panel for collecting/administering the various types of baton passes. This data was then collected and sent back out to the site dynamically via a custom API. At the time, it was exciting that the site is converted to static html pages, uploaded to S3 and fronted by CloudFront all as part of the deploy. It felt good that we were able to give SU2C and Siemens a dynamic, “adminable” web application that deployed statically for incredible speed and stability.
#istandupfor
One way that SU2C spreads the word about their cause is by helping people affected by cancer pay tribute to their battles and their loved ones. They came to Dojo4 with the original version of the #istandupfor iPhone app (created by a different agency) and asked us to create a website, an Android version of the app, and a new iOS app. And, oh by the way, it had to handle the pressures of fundraising during a live, international telethon!
The #istandupfor app allows people to create and share a photo placard with the Stand Up To Cancer community. It also allows them to share their tribute via social media. We think it’s easy to use and impactful, but see for yourself at istandupfor.su2c.org.
The final component of this #istandupfor project was to create native mobile apps for both iOS and Android in time for the 2014 MLB World Series. The apps needed to be easily maintained by SU2C, provide users with a good native app experience, and handle hundreds of thousands of users at a time. This led to some interesting architecture conversations with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and in the end was a super successful.
We're Calling You!
Every other year, SU2C produces a live, international telethon during which they raise millions of dollars for cancer research. It's a one-hour program filled with celebrities, stories of courageous cancer patients, and highlights of promising scientific research. For the 2014 telethon, they came to Dojo4 with a unique idea: instead of having celebrities answer phone calls from people calling to donate, why not switch it up and let celebrities contact people directly?
To allow people to register to receive a call from a celebrity, we built a website that allowed people share their stories about cancer and why they should get a call from a celebrity. SU2C loved the user-facing design we did and we were proud of the easy-to-use admin interface that allowed their staff to review and select registrants, and a UI that encouraged the user to donate wherever they could.
In addition to the registration website, we created a responsive, mobile web app that allowed the celebrities to contact registrants. Pressure to have this app function perfectly was incredibly high, since the celebrities would be using it while on the stage during live television. As a backup, we added the ability for a celebrity to text the backstage SU2C stage should they have any questions. The app also had to be personalized for each celebrity, and work on the latest Samsung mobile devices. One of the things that SU2C loved most about this application was the fact that it was a mobile web app that allowed them to have flexibility that a native app wouldn't have.
To read more about this project, see our blog posts before and after the live show!