As a company, you are a complicated and sometimes confusing entity to get to grips with, especially for someone looking in from the outside. You have clients, distributors and many products, or maybe just one product and many distributors, many products and one distributor...you get the idea.
So you want a new digital strategy, an inspiring online campaign and maybe a shiny new website too; you come to us (hopefully) and we do our thing – more about that in a moment. One of the first and most important questions we need to ask is; “Who do you want to visit your website?”
A good agency will take the time to understand your brand, its positioning, your target market, your competitors and much more, before even beginning to advise you on a recommended strategy and approach. At risk of sounding like I am stating the obvious, these are all areas of your business that you ought to already have a good understanding of, and if not, it’s definitely worth spending some time on this before you engage a digital agency.
It can be a delicate balancing act condensing such disparate information into a coherent online presence. You can be too business focused; too client based or caught up in including the latest ‘must-haves’, with little idea of how they will deliver a return. It is all too easy to lose sight of the real purpose of your digital presence, the client relationship and what you need to do to service the needs of all your stakeholders online. Without a comprehensive understanding of the bigger picture, it is almost impossible to ensure you get your digital strategy and online presence right – unless you just happen to get lucky. Personally, we prefer not to leave things to chance!
Our work for NFL UK is a great example of putting this into practice. The NFL UK website objective was to strengthen the brand’s UK presence, without alienating new or current brand ‘fans’. We chose to present the information in a very user-friendly way, with a strong focus on the Information Architecture and User Experience of the website. We didn’t want an NFL-newbie to be bombarded with information, but we still wanted to be able to provide the dedicated fan with everything they could possibly desire and more.
Another example is our work for Hi-Tec. We were tasked with creating a digital channel to support the global launch of Hi-Tec’s new ion-mask footwear range. We created the microsite WetisDry.com and focused heavily on the communication of information at a variety of levels, giving the basic footwear consumer simple enough information to get an understanding of the product and its benefits, whilst also providing the more technically-minded visitors with enough depth of information to demonstrate the science behind the product.
So to sum up the message I’m trying to get across here (this is the clarity of message part!) – whether a website, like the two projects above, a campaign or a global digital strategy; any digital project requires a significant investment in planning and research before pen is even put to paper in the creative department. It is this step change that will see the delivery of increasingly impressive ROI from digital. Digital IS marketing and much like above the line communications, it’s the messaging that is key. Fail to carry out sufficient research and planning and you will end up with the same results as a poorly prepared offline campaign!
Paul Windust
Digital Project Manager
Showing posts with label digital planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digital planning. Show all posts
Monday, 5 October 2009
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Cancer Research UK Re-Launches Microsite
Cancer Research UK yesterday re-launched its microsite, JoinTheFight.org.uk in support of its ‘Join the fight for women’s survival’ breast cancer awareness campaign.
The microsite is the result of a collaboration between Bluhalo and Cancer Research UK’s internal development team, with Bluhalo providing the planning, design and Flash expertise.
The site aims to increase funds raised by focusing on increased traffic levels, improved user experience and enhanced user engagement, and supports a variety of on and offline promotional activity, encouraging visitors to ‘join the fight for women’s survival and help beat breast cancer’.
‘Join the fight for women’s survival’ is the new title name and theme for Cancer Research UK’s 2009 Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) campaign, which focuses on raising awareness of breast cancer and funds for research into the disease.
Bluhalo, appointed by Cancer Research UK in January 2009, has worked on a number of other projects for the charity including the production of a microsite and digital advertising assets for Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life campaign.
Jocelyn Kirby
Marketing & Business Development Manager
The microsite is the result of a collaboration between Bluhalo and Cancer Research UK’s internal development team, with Bluhalo providing the planning, design and Flash expertise.
The site aims to increase funds raised by focusing on increased traffic levels, improved user experience and enhanced user engagement, and supports a variety of on and offline promotional activity, encouraging visitors to ‘join the fight for women’s survival and help beat breast cancer’.
‘Join the fight for women’s survival’ is the new title name and theme for Cancer Research UK’s 2009 Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) campaign, which focuses on raising awareness of breast cancer and funds for research into the disease.
Bluhalo, appointed by Cancer Research UK in January 2009, has worked on a number of other projects for the charity including the production of a microsite and digital advertising assets for Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life campaign.
Jocelyn Kirby
Marketing & Business Development Manager
Monday, 12 May 2008
Digital Planning Explained
Why Digital Planning?
Digital planning is the difference between a good website and a great website!
Digital planning is an essential process to online business success. The scope of digital planning required varies from business to business, needs to be entirely bespoke (within a framework) and is carried out prior to an online communications project such as a new website or an online marketing campaign.
As with all marketing, planning is the key to a successful campaign and often forms a large part of the time and financial investment in a project. With the prominence and complexity of digital marketing increasing, the need for comprehensive and quality planning is all the more essential.
Your digital plan should include professional analysis of your objectives, indentifying target audiences and understanding their motivations - often including psychology, reading market trends and keeping abreast of new media developments. From this detailed research, the perfect solution for maximising your ROI and gaining a competitive edge can be formed. A digital planner assesses the plethora of digital communication channels and provides recommendations tailored to your business objectives which will be identified during the research stages of the planning process.
This does not encapsulate all that a digital plan provides, but highlights the significance of digital planning in the fast-moving digital world.
We believe that preparation is key, and planning is at the heart of a successful online business.
Speak to Bluhalo about how digital planning can help strengthen your success!
Digital planning is the difference between a good website and a great website!
Digital planning is an essential process to online business success. The scope of digital planning required varies from business to business, needs to be entirely bespoke (within a framework) and is carried out prior to an online communications project such as a new website or an online marketing campaign.
As with all marketing, planning is the key to a successful campaign and often forms a large part of the time and financial investment in a project. With the prominence and complexity of digital marketing increasing, the need for comprehensive and quality planning is all the more essential.
Your digital plan should include professional analysis of your objectives, indentifying target audiences and understanding their motivations - often including psychology, reading market trends and keeping abreast of new media developments. From this detailed research, the perfect solution for maximising your ROI and gaining a competitive edge can be formed. A digital planner assesses the plethora of digital communication channels and provides recommendations tailored to your business objectives which will be identified during the research stages of the planning process.
This does not encapsulate all that a digital plan provides, but highlights the significance of digital planning in the fast-moving digital world.
We believe that preparation is key, and planning is at the heart of a successful online business.
Speak to Bluhalo about how digital planning can help strengthen your success!
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
The 6 must-have website features for 2008
1. Blog
They’re quick and easy to update, can be informal if appropriate and can develop a large user base if the right content and appropriate sharing mechanisms are used. A blog can also be a way of encouraging two-way communications, engaging the user by giving them the ability to comment on posts and providing pre-purchase research resources for consumers. All of this of course providing sound commercial benefits which may include an increase in website transactions, more enquiries or more sign-ups – it depends upon your objectives.
2. Customer reviews
Taking the communication one step further and enabling customers to review you, your products and your service can open a valuable communications channel, whilst increasing customer confidence. Don’t be scared of bad reviews, they give you the chance to react and the opportunity to improve service, prove you are a reputable company and increase customer loyalty.
3. Regularly updated content
One key factor in SEO is frequent updates to your site’s content – search engines will love you for it and this will certainly help your overall SEO strategy and natural listings. Of course, content has to be relevant, but in turn this will build your presence as an authoritative figure in your field. Don’t worry about the time it takes to write your news everyday – Bluhalo can arrange that for you!
4. RSS and Atom feeds
Allowing users of your website to subscribe to your news and blog feeds not only helps to establish you as an authority in your area of business, but also encourages repeat visits and increased brand awareness and loyalty – all contributing to increased levels of sales.
5. Functional footer
A functional footer is often seen as just another way of increasing clicks within your website. But it’s more than that. A functional footer improves usability, is simple to build, is very en vogue and provides a high density of key words to contribute to your SEO.
6. Digital planning
Digital planning is the difference between a good website and a great website! Professional analysis of your objectives, target market and competitors will give you the perfect solution for maximising your ROI and gaining a competitive edge, providing recommendations tailored to your exact requirements and budget. Everyone needs digital planning, so speak to Bluhalo about how it can help you!
To continue with our marathon of web tips, click on one of the article titles below:
Make social media work for you
Hot 5 design trends
Blog successfully
Increase your website traffic
They’re quick and easy to update, can be informal if appropriate and can develop a large user base if the right content and appropriate sharing mechanisms are used. A blog can also be a way of encouraging two-way communications, engaging the user by giving them the ability to comment on posts and providing pre-purchase research resources for consumers. All of this of course providing sound commercial benefits which may include an increase in website transactions, more enquiries or more sign-ups – it depends upon your objectives.
2. Customer reviews
Taking the communication one step further and enabling customers to review you, your products and your service can open a valuable communications channel, whilst increasing customer confidence. Don’t be scared of bad reviews, they give you the chance to react and the opportunity to improve service, prove you are a reputable company and increase customer loyalty.
3. Regularly updated content
One key factor in SEO is frequent updates to your site’s content – search engines will love you for it and this will certainly help your overall SEO strategy and natural listings. Of course, content has to be relevant, but in turn this will build your presence as an authoritative figure in your field. Don’t worry about the time it takes to write your news everyday – Bluhalo can arrange that for you!
4. RSS and Atom feeds
Allowing users of your website to subscribe to your news and blog feeds not only helps to establish you as an authority in your area of business, but also encourages repeat visits and increased brand awareness and loyalty – all contributing to increased levels of sales.
5. Functional footer
A functional footer is often seen as just another way of increasing clicks within your website. But it’s more than that. A functional footer improves usability, is simple to build, is very en vogue and provides a high density of key words to contribute to your SEO.
6. Digital planning
Digital planning is the difference between a good website and a great website! Professional analysis of your objectives, target market and competitors will give you the perfect solution for maximising your ROI and gaining a competitive edge, providing recommendations tailored to your exact requirements and budget. Everyone needs digital planning, so speak to Bluhalo about how it can help you!
To continue with our marathon of web tips, click on one of the article titles below:
Make social media work for you
Hot 5 design trends
Blog successfully
Increase your website traffic
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