Get a feel for our approach to projects and how we solve our clients' problems with these selected case studies
- Nicky Hayden: web design and development, content management
- Vitalimed: print design and branding
- Reflex Marine: product launch email and landing pages, online marketing
Nicky Hayden case study
web design and development, content management
Client background info
Nicky Hayden is a former motoGP world champion and is currently riding for Ducati in the 2009 season (with team mate Casey Stoner) having previously ridden for Honda alongside Dani Pedrosa. He has a loyal fan base worldwide and has become a recognised global brand.
Website: http://www.nickyhayden.com
The new Nicky Hayden homepage, redesigned to meet with new branding requirements
Challenge
Nicky Hayden changed teams for the 2009 season, moving form Honda Repsol to Ducati. This was a high profile, big-name move and the web site needed to adapt accordingly. We had previously designed and built the existing site and so had a good idea of what was working well on the site and more importantly what areas needed a fresh approach.
The first issues, and the most pressing in terms of client facing problems, was the overall look and feel of the site. Ducati and Honda have very different corporate identities and the site needed to reflect the branding of the new team, while still retaining elements of the old site so that regular users wouldn't feel alienated or confused.
There were also issues involving existing content and how best to handle the content migration. We needed to avoid removing a lot of content that had proved to be popular with the site visitors and naturally wanted to avoid leaving a number of 404 Page not found errors.
We were told that we should also try to direct more users to the online merchandising store, to take advantage of the high profile Ducati switch to boost revenue as far as possible.
Other key content areas on the site to be given special emphasis as a result of user behavior analysis were the news sections and media gallery updates.
Solution
We looked very carefully at the existing site and decided that we would be able to retain much of the original coding and focus mostly on revamping the look and feel of the site through modifications to the site's CSS files. This meant that we would not have to dedicate too much time and resources to a second full implementation of the Content Management System (CMS) that drives the site as a whole.
After investigating with the client how closely the overall site needed to reflect the team's branding and identity, we cam up with an overall colour scheme and layout format that was accepted by all parties involved in the process. The new homepage makes clear use of the distinctive Ducati red, but also incorporates the Nicky branding that we used and developed on his previous site.
We migrated the existing content with great care, and where applicable decided to archive areas of content that could be deemed to be no longer current, but which still traffic statistics showed were still popular with site visitors. In this way we were able to ensure that the transition between the two sites was carried out as smoothly as possible.
To direct more focus to the online store, we added to a large teaser block in a crucial content area on the home page, and also made it very easy or users to sing up for the newsletter from the homepage, again in an effort to bolster the fan base and build brand loyalty. To reinforce this, we also designed and included throughout the major interior pages of the site special promotional blocks acting as visual calls to action for the store and newsletter sign up.
News items and updates were also featured on the home page, ensuring that the latest headlines are readily available to users and also to the search engines - making sure that the new site's page rank will benefit from the advantage provided by regular updates and fresh content. We also built into the CMS a RSS flag, allowing the site administrator's to flag any content item as newsworthy, and therefore include it in the site's RSS feed.
Result
The new Nicky Hayden site fits both the client's personal brand image and the Ducati team's branding. The content structure has ben maintained to keep orphaned links to a minimum and we have increased the focus on certain key areas of the site, based on user feedback and visitor behaviour analysis and statistics. The new site, is tighter, more focused and offers users exactly the content that they look for from a Nicky Hayden site.
Vitalimed case study
print design and branding
Background Information
Vitalimed arrived in Spain as a franchise of an existing company operating in Holland. Offering a new methodology and approach to weight loss and diet management, Vitalimed needed the full design and development of their offline print materials, for distribution to patients and doctors involved in the programme.
Challenge
Vitalimed had previously developed the company logo to be sued across all communication materials but there was no overall branding guideline in place. The challenge was to produce a cohesive set of materials that were targeted to the different end users involved - the patients undergoing treatment and the doctors administering and promoting the treatment. The materials for each end user would need to speak with a different voice, but the overall messaging would need to be cohesive. The deliverables to be designed and developed were an A4 patient triptych, a 16 page A5 patient booklet, a doctors' 16 page A5 booklet and a doctors' patient file cover page.
Solution
We looked at the typical patients' profile to get an idea for their feelings about approaching this treatment, and to gauge their expectations, hopes and reservations. It was important get a full understanding of how Vitalimed differed from other treatment providers already established on the market and how they wanted to distance and differentiate themselves from existing competitors. Also of crucial importance was to gain a full understanding of how the doctors must be sure that the Vitalimed product would be of benefit to the end patient and that the doctors felt confident in recommending the treatment to their own patients. Having investigated the needs of these two end user groups, we were able to define the concerns and possible objections for each group, and this helped us to understand the tone and feeling that needed to be communicated by the offline support materials in question.
Working closely with the client, we then set about putting together some initial ideas and getting client feedback on them. Basing the designs on the information gained from the initial investigation stage, we were able to develop a tone, style, look and feel for each of the two end user areas, and maintain this across each of the key deliverables.
Vitalimed 16 page A5 patient booklet
Vitalimed 16 page A5 patient booklet inner page
Vitalimed 16 page A5 doctor booklet
Vitalimed A4 patient triptych
Result
The end result was a set of great-looking documents that met with client satisfaction and which were used throughout the product's lifecycle by the client. The two sets of designs spoke to the user with a suitable tone and addressed the needs correctly, providing with client with a great starting point for their business development in Spain.
Reflex Marine case study
email design and send, online marketing, landing page design and management
Client background info
Reflex Marine are recognised industry leaders in marine personnel transfer and offshore access solutions. They have two key products: the well established FROG™ device and the recently launched TORO™ transfer device.
Website: http://www.reflexmarine.com
The TORO product launch email was very targeted and focused on specific objectives and goals.
Challenge
Following a previous product launch in Europe, Reflex Marine's (RML) latest product, the TORO, was to be launched in the United States. With this in mind, RML needed to generate interest in the product and create a buzz about the launch event. The US is a key market for this product and it was important that the product's capabilities be communicated to key industry figures, with the best case scenario of generating a good level of attendance at the launch event.
Solution
RML have carefully built up an opt-in email list from their industry contacts. The overall list size is not large but is quite targeted. We decided to put together an email shot to announce the launch and to provide additional information on the product. The overall aim of the project was three-fold: to promote the launch event, to gather as many confirmed attendees as possible, and to provide background product information.
We designed and built an HTML email that focused clearly on the event. The email presented the user with primary calls to action (to reserve a place at the event) in a succinct and efficient manner. As is routine in our email design projects, the actual html build used validated code that didn't rely on images for the display of key information, making sure that users with their email clients set to block images would also clearly see the key content and calls to action.
Secondary calls to action were provided which allowed users to view video footage of the European product launch or to order a free product DVD. All clicks took users to TORO branded lading pages, that were designed with the aim of guiding users as efficiently as possible through the registration processes required for each requested action.
Result
The HTML email was well received and gained a favourable open and click rate, resulting in a good level of confirmed attendees at the US launch event. The interest shown in the TORO video and the free DVD offer was also very positive and the aims of generating interest in the product were successfully met.