From employee campaigns to a mobile-first social platform for 200,000 crew accounts.

The early campaigns used quizzes, polls, animation and prize draws to make internal updates more engaging and encourage repeat visits to OurLounge.

One recurring example was an advent calendar. Crew unlocked a new animated door each day, earning an additional competition entry for every door opened on the correct date and a further ten entries for completing the full calendar. Blue Goose created the artwork and After Effects animations; I worked with their designer on the format I needed, then integrated and controlled the exported Bodymovin animation in code.

More than 30 campaigns ran across the life of the platform. Early prize draws were exported and processed through an independent randomisation service. Later campaigns incorporated winner selection directly into the administration workflow, always after the current leaver list had been reconciled so eligibility remained accurate.

Polls offered a lighter form of participation. Each person could respond once, view the results after voting and return to them later. Marketing teams could compare response levels and activity across restaurants through the CMS.

Crew posts appeared immediately when they passed automated language and sentiment checks. Potential problems failed safely into review rather than disappearing or being published unchecked.

If content triggered a rule, it was accepted but withheld from the feed. The author received a clear message that it had been sent for review, and administrators were alerted through a dedicated CMS queue. Crew could also report content themselves, while administrators could remove posts or suspend an account.

Human review was important because automated rules inevitably produced false positives—including harmless expressions of excitement. The CMS preserved the underlying moderation data and activity history so administrators could understand why something had been flagged rather than making decisions without context.

Campaign launches created predictable surges far beyond everyday feed activity, particularly during the advent calendar when crew across both territories returned each day.

I combined load testing with careful application optimisation, caching and controlled background media processing. The challenge was not social-network scale in the abstract; it was ensuring that authentication, entry recording, winner eligibility and content delivery remained dependable when a campaign concentrated a large audience into a short period.

Security mattered for the same reason. The platform combined workforce identity, user-generated content and prizes of material value, so access, eligibility, administrative actions and data removal needed clear controls and traceability.

For a global exhibition in Las Vegas, I built an installed web application that helped McDonald’s gather structured insight from event delegates and prospective restaurant managers.

Rather than presenting a conventional form, the application led people through an animated story about attracting and motivating restaurant teams, placing short questions at relevant points and ending with a film. Blue Goose supplied the visual assets; I created the application, transitions and data-capture experience across several staff-guided iPads.

The venue provided reliable connectivity, so responses could be submitted directly. Staff introduced the experience and the application explained how names, email addresses and answers would be used for follow-up.