Masters Allen have been commissioned to redesign the
BFDC website,
a leading stamp and first-day-cover online resource. For stamp
lovers everywhere (and there are more than you think!), BFDC has
been a valuable source for purchasing and referencing stamps for
the last 30 years, with over 30,000 items available.
Our brief included the challenge of restructuring the navigation in such
a way, as to make it easier to use for a wide variety of existing visitors.
From keen stamp collectors, to those who are looking for special
dated collection gifts, to researchers and enthusiasts.
The redesign is in progress and will be launched in the coming months.
Masters Allen have been working with midlands based telecommunications company Daly Telecom on their rebrand.
Daly Telecom recognised the need to future-proof their business, viewing the situation as an opportunity to expand their client base and move into new markets.
It was clear that the name needed addressing first and foremost, whilst it may be familiar to the current client base, it restricted their product offering and development into new markets. We had to establish a name that not only retained the 25 year heritage within the industry, but also provide a solution to take the business forward in an ever-changing and fast-moving industry. The solution, as it turned out, was simple – a removal of the reference to telecommunications, combined with the retention of the Daly name and reference to communications, joined together, created the individual name – Dalycom.
The new brand and design style has been applied to a variety of visual assets to create a consistent and coherent business message.
Web 2.0 content is really starting to become useful in making purchasing decisions. User feedback and customers reviews on websites can aid the website visitor in making a decision and website owners shouldn’t be afraid to allow users and visitors to add comments or post reviews on websites.
Just recently, whilst searching for a hotel in the Lake District, new Lake Windermere, I was taken on a journey across a number of websites reviewing content and ended up on www.activehotels.com. The web 2.0 content there was extremely helpful in understanding a lot more about the resort, the facilities and the hotels available there, right down to reading reviews from people of a similar demographic and their thoughts about not only the hotel itself but about the specific rooms that they stayed in.
This was followed up by a quick call to the hotel to check availability of the exact room that we were interested in. Not only did we manage to book that room but we got a significant discount off the prices on the internet!
Without doubt we will be leaving our review on the very same website in the hope that other visitors will benefit from our comments. Hotels are just one example, but web 2.0 content could be used in any industry from automotive to telecoms, any website should consider the opportunities offered by this new wave of interactive web content.
What makes viral marketing work. Well a great way is to come up with something fascinating, that will make people surprised, scratch their heads, laugh or perhaps cry… or maybe a combination of all of the above. We came across this bit of viral marketing that certainly made us chuckle and it found itself on our website.
Channel 5 started broadcasting to the nation (well most of it) at 6pm on March 30th 1997. Still fresh in our minds are the tuning problems that we all experienced. The terrestrial frequencies that had been allocated for the channel in most areas clashed with those already used for our good old VCR’s. A massive re-tuning program started to make sure people could view the channel.
The launch saw the Spice Girls performing a catchy little number (see below) followed by the usual launch protocol/hype. Also pictured is a example of the off-screen promotional literature, with the striking colour themes present throughout.
The latest rebrand is the first time the main channel has undergone a refresh since it transformed from ‘Channel 5′ to ‘five’ in 2002. The 2002 rebrand saw the removal of the ‘five’ toned colour bar, together with the numeral ‘5′ being replaced with the word ‘five’. As you can see, the letters are lower case.
The 2008 rebrand is hardly revolutionary, however the talking point seems to be the shift from lower case letters to upper case. The ‘f’ retains a rounded edge whilst in contrast the other letters have sharp ones. The ‘v’ is slanted and we have to say bears a resemblance to the ‘Living’ channel logo.
An on-screen clip for the rebrand can be seen below. It’s a long way from the original launch, although we should be grateful that after eleven years ‘FIVE’ have got something right by leaving the Spice Girls out of their advertising.
But what next for the ‘FIVE’ brand? If their short history is anything to go by, they should be due for another rebrand in 2013…ish.
We’re sure you will have heard about, or seen, the new Hovis TV ad. It has received a great deal of media attention. The epic 122-second TV commercial is part of a new £15million campaign. The length of the cinema-style advert represents the age of the original Hovis small brown loaf, 122 years. The loaf itself is being re-introduced into stores. Incidentally, the Hovis brand is valued at a reported £380million.
Not to be outdone, Warburtons have started a new ad campaign, said to be costing in the region of £22million. Together with TV ads, press ads will roll out in Women’s press and Sunday supplements with the emphasis on ‘fibre’. A microsite has also been created with a fibre calculator amongst other things. Below is the latest TV commercial entitled, ‘welcome to the family’.
The notion of digital onscreen graphics (web) replacing printed media is not a new one. However, the idea of books making way for digital readers sends a shiver down your spine. Although there are other models on the market, the Sony Reader seems to have drawn a considerable amount of media attention of late.
There are obvious benefits to owning a digital ‘reader’ not least the fact that they can hold up to 160 eBooks. Imagine all of those empty bookshelves up and down the country. Although we can’t see this happening over night, especially as the Sony Reader is priced at a not very inviting £199.00.
The main drawback to these ‘readers’ is the lack of presence. A book remains a physical object, tangible and personal to it’s owner. A great cover design can draw our attention and add character to a book. We can become immersed in a book, picking it up everyday, creasing the cover and folding the corners when we can’t find a bookmark, oh and the battery never runs out on a book! The battery on the Sony Reader is rumored to last up to 7,000 page turns, although this appears to be a considerable amount you can guarantee that it will run out just when you don’t want it to.
Each eBook purchased is rights managed, in a similar way to tracks downloaded from the iTunes Store. The software is Windows based and not geared towards Mac OS (getting a thumbs down from us), but apparently with a bit of jiggery pokery it can be hooked up to a Mac. You can also view PDF’s… in monotone (oh the joy, whoop whoop), but we all have iPods for that, don’t we?
Digital design consultancy Splendid is creating a new Facebook-style social networking site for entrepreneurs, due to go live this autumn.
Owned by Brightstation Ventures, business support website Smarta will put those wanting to start or grow a business in touch with other entrepreneurs. Dyson director Richard Needham sits on Smarta’s board.
‘A website like Linked In has a very professional edge to it, but there is room for a more inclusive business support and networking website with no gender bias,’ says design group Splendid’s managing director Paul Bishop.
Brighstation appointed Splendid to create Smarta 18 months ago without a pitch, having worked with the consultancy for the past two years on three other websites.
Bishop claims Splendid was recommended to Brighstation following the consultancy’s work on websites for former Emap-owned magazines New Woman and Heat.
Brightstation has secured funding for Smarta from Vodafone and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Splendid created a holding microsite for the venture that went live in December and can be viewed at www.smarta.com.
Article from Design Week – www.designweek.co.uk/Articles
What is an autoresponder? You may be thinking that you’ve heard of the term but haven’t had any need to use one. Well it might be the case that you have already been on the receiving end of autoresponder messages in the past.
If you have filled out a web form, such as the one on our SEO page (www.mastersallen.co.uk/online_marketing_leicester.htm) pictured below and you received an email instantly then it’s more than likely that this message was generated using an autoresponder:
Imagine if Claire (a budding guitarist) visits your website. You sell a book that helps her improve her skills. She’s highly interested in what you have to offer, but she’s just not ready to purchase yet. She’s still recovering from that extended holiday and needs to pay off the credit card that she used to buy her latest equipment.
She sees a form on your website asking if she’d like more detailed information, and so she fills in her name and email address. Within seconds an email is sent to Claire with a short summary of the benefits offered by your book and a couple of useful tips she can use right away.
A few days later, Claire receives another email that goes something like this:
“Hi Claire, I know you’re quite busy, especially with the holiday period coming to an end, but I just wanted to get in touch with you to let you know we’ve got a special offer coming up for that ‘How to learn the Guitar in 30 days” book.
Claire’s forgotten that she’d been looking to buy a book like this and this email reminds her that she needs to get some help in order to improve. Claire adds buying the handbook to her “To Do” list and goes about her daily business.
Another few days later, Claire receives another email, now letting her know that the special offer is about to end along with another couple of helpful tips that’s in the book. Claire realises she doesn’t have much time now, and goes off to purchase your book.
Every email sent to Claire was automated. You didn’t have to wait for her to subscribe, you didn’t have to personally address Clair, nor did you have to send her an email every few days.
The example above shows how a series of auto responder emails can be used as a powerful “hands off” marketing tool for your web site.
Why not take a few minutes and think to yourself, “How can I use auto responders on my web site?” This simple exercise could easily add another stream of revenue to your web site that you didn’t know existed. For more information on email marketing, why not contact us to see how we can help.
