Everybody loves the Slowskys, right? What’s not to like about two good-humored turtles content to crawl their way through a high-speed world?

“Fast. It’s not for everyone,” Bill and Karolyn Slowsky like to remind us. Yet as slow-paced as they claim to be, the Slowsky sure built a website in a hurry.

Fans of the leisurely couple can browse through their scrapbook, send friends belated e-cards, download loading bars, and watch the TV gigs that made the Slowskys famous. It’s pretty awesome. Go ahead, check it out.

After you get over the fact that two fictitious turtles have their own website, notice that it’s completely separate from Comcast’s primary website. With a unique web address (www.theslowskys.com), the Slowskys are the masters of their own domain. Literally.

The only time you’re reminded that these delightful turtles have an agenda of their own is if you decide to click on a cute little sign outside their antique armoire home that reads “Break Away from Slow.”

And you know what happens if you break away from slow…you’re immediately directed to Comcast’s High Speed Internet webpage. Clever, huh?

A microsite–a site supplementary to an organization’s primary website–seeks to create a buzz around a specific product, service, event or anything else that the organization wants to feature. Microsites serve as their own entity (they have a unique web address and links), yet their purpose is ultimately to drive attention to its “parent” site.

The Slowskys, for example, specifically promote Comcast’s high-speed Internet (not cable, not phone service) by suggesting that only turtles are suited for a slow-paced DSL connection. The microsite is entertaining, engaging and memorable (especially the scrapbook!). It doesn’t include any confusing bundles or rates; it doesn’t require any commitments or spending. That’s what comcast.com is for.

A successful microsite immerses a user in a specific concept (case in point: the Slowskys). It’s interactive and accessible. It features animation and video. It provides an experience rather than a boatload of general information.

Microsites work especially well in conjunction with other advertising outlets. Google AdWords, web banners, TV and radio commercials, and email campaigns can together drum up interest in your microsite, and if your site is well-crafted, it will direct users to your primary website for more information.

We Cultivators are huge proponents of microsites, probably because we’ve witnessed firsthand how effective they have been for our clients. Starting tomorrow, we’ll dedicate a week to highlighting some of our most innovative clients–both on the web and in their specific areas of expertise.