An interesting tale of a Web site development deal gone wrong appears in Ad Age, which reports that
Avalanche client Rx Remedy, a consumer health mag, claims to have
been “left adrift.”
Avalanche Solutions, recently
acquired by Razorfish, was hired in December 1996 to
create a promotional Web site for the mag by May 1997. “Fourteen months and
$280,000 later, Remedy Online still doesn’t have its Web site and has severed
ties to Avalanche,” the article says.
However, the site should be ready for a preliminary launch next month,
Ad Age said.
Peter Seidler, Avalanche chief creative officer, was quoted as saying problems
developed because Remedy kept changing the site’s technical specifications,
and
the health magazine never signed a contract with Avalanche.
Valorie Weaver, Remedy Publishing executive vice president-general manager,
was quoted as saying Remedy didn’t receive a final version of a contract until
months into the project, and its lawyers advised against signing it to avoid
getting stuck in a contract dispute.
It’s an interest
ing read if you’re involved in a similar situation–or want to avoid one.