WiseTiger client Think Apartments Reaches First £1 Million in Online Bookings within 10 Months
Posted: April 19, 2010 Filed under: Online case studies, Search Marketing, Web Design and Online Communications, WiseTiger client case studies | Tags: Email Marketing, Marketing, Online, Think Apartments, Web design Leave a comment »
WiseTiger client ‘Think Apartments’ reaches first £1 Million in Online Bookings within 10 Months.
WiseTiger today announced that short-term apartment letting specialists, Think Apartments, has seen massive growth in its online sales using a newly developed website and integrated booking system; realising £1 million in just 10 months from online direct bookings.
Think Apartments originally approached online and offline communications agency, WiseTiger with a brief for a new website, Google AdWord management, email marketing tools and integration with their online booking engine.
Stewart Moore, Group Marketing Director of Think Apartments explained, “One of the key benefits of having such a versatile website is that we can quickly and simply edit content to include specific offers. For example, we can provide discounts to visitors attending large events in Earl’s Court; the offer can be displayed uniformly on the website in a matter of seconds enhancing branding and consistency. There are even 360 degree pictures of the rooms so that our prospective customers can look before they book.”
Simon Verrall, Creative Director at WiseTiger added, “We’ve really enjoyed working with Think Apartments. They’ve embraced online communications with great enthusiasm and that’s been reflected in the success of their website. They wanted to improve their online sales and I’m delighted that we’ve helped them to achieve their goals. They were brave and adventurous in their approach to online marketing and their bold strategy has worked.”
Visit Think Apartments at www.think-apartments.co.uk or our press release at starturl.com/wtwox or visit our case study online at www.wisetiger.co.uk
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British Standard for Web Accessibility BSI BS8878
Posted: February 16, 2009 Filed under: Web Design and Online Communications | Tags: Accessibility, In the news, Web design 1 Comment »
The British Standards Institute announces plans to develop British Standard for Web Accessibility
Good news. The British Standards BSI have announced plans to define the criteria by which Accessible websites will have to comply. Work is already underway on BS8878, with full details being announced in Spring 2009.
The BSI standard will be welcomed by many web designers and developers as it will (hopefully) clearly define what is required by an Accessible website. Accessible websites currently adopt the W3C standards; this is fine, but there are various other ‘accessibility’ features out there on the web which are not included in W3C (e.g the ability for a user to change colour contrast at the click of a button). Hopefully the BSI Standard will help to define ‘British’ compliance for clients and developers alike.
For more information visit the BSI website
The Queen’s New Website
Posted: February 12, 2009 Filed under: Web Design and Online Communications | Tags: In the news, The Queen, Web design Leave a comment »
The Queen launches her new website
Today is the day that The Queen relaunches her website at Buckingham Palace with the help of Sir Tim Berners-Lee – the inventor of the World Wide Web.
A perfect example of the ‘Silver Surfer’ generation, The Queen has embraced the web and by all accounts is a regular emailer, YouTube viewer and Googler! According to senior royal sources, the Queen has been “hands on” over the redesign which is due to be revealed today, 12th February 2009.
It’s worth remembering that the Royal Family does like to move with the times. From her coronation which was televised live through to the launch of her YouTube Channel and recent podcasts, The Queen believes that ”more personal and more direct” communication brings her closer to the public.
The new website can be visited here.
The new website includes many exciting features including archive material and content from the Royal Household never seen before. The website has been designed with more video and some neat integration with YouTube and Google Maps. However it seems that we won’t be seeing Her Royal Majesty blogging or Twittering (for now)!
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Computer tanning: hoax website
Posted: February 5, 2009 Filed under: Creative comment, Marketing and Advertising, Web Design and Online Communications | Tags: Charity, Computer Tan, Email Marketing, In the news, Viral, Web design Leave a comment »
Neat Viral Website for a Skin Cancer Charity
Here’s a great online viral. You’ve got to love the concept of office workers topping up their tans via their computer screens.
View the website at www.computertan.com
Read more at the Creative Review blog
Contact me to talk more about viral websites and email marketing.
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The ‘3D Kissing’ Website!
Posted: February 4, 2009 Filed under: Creative comment, Web Design and Online Communications | Tags: Marketing, Viral, Web design Leave a comment »
3D technology goes online (bring your own 3D specs)
If you thought that 3D technology was a thing of the past, you’d be wrong. It’s moved from the cinema screens of the 1950′s to our home PCs of the 21st Century.
Check out “Kiss Me in 3D” – the viral website for Crest toothpaste’s Whitestrips teeth whitening product. The site, best viewed through 3D glasses, offers you the ideal kiss with a girl or guy online. (Particularly useful if you need to go online for your kisses).
I’m not sure about the merits of whitening your teeth with chemicals – but the website is great fun!
Contact me to find out how WiseTiger can help you with Online-Offline Communications.
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Farnham Online Case Study
Posted: January 23, 2009 Filed under: Online case studies, Web Design and Online Communications | Tags: Accessibility, Farnham, Farnham Online, Web design, WiseTiger 1 Comment »
Farnham Town Council
Farnham Online is the website for Farnham Town Council – an online resource for residents, visitors and businesses. Farnham is an old English market town one hour south-west of London with narrow streets lined with some of the finest Georgian architecture in the South of England. The parish church and castle date back to the 12th Century.
The brief:
WiseTiger won a five-way pitch to design and produce the town’s website. Our brief was to produce an appealing and informative website to provide information to the residents of Farnham as well as promoting tourism and business in and around the town.
The website was also required to conform with the W3C Web Accessibility Guidelines and be built with a Content Management System to allow the team to edit content and add pages to the site.
The Answer:
The design of the website features a specially commissioned illustration of Farnham’s landmark buildings set against a backdrop of the River Wey and the North Downs. The site has been structured into four areas – for visitors, residents, businesses, and information about the council. Other features of the site include a news and events section, a live weather feed, online video and a document download library for council forms, committee minutes and agendas.
The Result:
Farnham Online is already being recognised as one of the best local authority websites in the UK for design, accessibility and content.
Visit Globalport’s case study at the WiseTiger website
Visit the Farnham Online website
Give me a call or drop me an email if you want to know more about this client case study.
Web design and colour contrast
Posted: January 19, 2009 Filed under: Creative comment, Web Design and Online Communications | Tags: Accessibility, Farnham Online, Gallions, Local Authority, Simon says..., Typography, W3C, Web design 3 Comments »
A quick note on Website Accessibility and the use of contrasting colours.
We’re all aware of the W3C standards that web designers and developers adhere to when creating sites. These standards meet the needs of users with disabilities, partially-sighted, blind and older users.
I won’t go into W3C details here, but I do want to address some of the issues surrounding colour and contrast that need to be recognised when specifying, designing and building a website for partially-sighted people. It’s worth saying that W3C is ‘the standard’. What I’ll talk about here are matters of best practice, designed to meet the requirements of W3C – and most importantly – the needs of the real world.
Ok, let’s get something straight from the off! I’m a designer, I love to create and produce impactful and good-looking websites. But I’m also realistic. There’s no point in creating a website that’s no use to large groups of visitors to the site. There’s a happy balance which needs to be found between design and function. I mean, wouldn’t the world be an awful place if every website looked like Nielsen’s UseIt.com!
It’s also worth saying that my dear grandma was blind and there’s glaucoma in the family. As a result I’ve taken a great interest in accessibility and design.
How do you know if your website has the right level of contrast?
Assuming you don’t have time to read the colour section of W3C, let’s cut to the chase and talk contrast.
The important factor is that there is sufficient contrast between background and foreground colours so that anyone with sight problems can clearly distinguish text. Here’s the technical bit (sit up straight at the back of the class). Color visibility can be determined according to an algorithm… which says that two colors provide good color visibility if the brightness difference and the color difference between the two colors are greater than a set range.
If you’re really, really interested, the algorithms for the set ranges are:
For Color brightness the formula is:
((Red value X 299) + (Green value X 587) + (Blue value X 114)) / 1000
The range for color brightness difference is 125.
For Color difference the formula is:
(maximum (Red value 1, Red value 2) – minimum (Red value 1, Red value 2)) + (maximum (Green value 1, Green value 2) – minimum (Green value 1, Green value 2)) + (maximum (Blue value 1, Blue value 2) – minimum (Blue value 1, Blue value 2))
The range for color difference is 500.
If you want to check to see if your website build has the right level of text contrast try this handy tool at www.accesskeys.org - it’s really handy for a final once over.
Here’s some great examples of some good contrast text in websites:
Detail from www.farnham.gov.uk
Detail from www.gallionsha.co.uk
Have you thought about ‘High Contrast’ colour option button?
Here’s another thing to consider with the planning, design and build of an accessible website. Add a ‘Contrast’ or ‘High Contrast’ button to the website. This is becoming an acceptable way of making some instant colour style changes, typically to a black background, with yellow text and cyan links. See the example below:
Change of colour scheme from normal to high contrast
Here are a couple of links to websites with this High Contrast effect:
www.langdoncollege.ac.uk
www.bradfordcollege.ac.uk
Hopefully you’ll find this information useful.
Do get in touch if you’d like any advice about web design with Accessibility in mind.
Globalports Case Study
Posted: January 13, 2009 Filed under: Brands and Brand Design, Integrated case studies, Web Design and Online Communications, WiseTiger client case studies | Tags: Brand design, Case study, Globalports, Web design, WiseTiger Leave a comment »
Global Ports
Global Ports is a leading container and oil products terminal operator in Russia and the Baltics. The Group’s terminals are located in the Baltic and far east Russia and constitute key gateways for Russian container imports and exports and oil products exports.
The brief:
Global Ports is a new company which evolved from consolidation in the port and container terminals market in Russia. With no existing brand or website, the client’s brief was to create a slick, modern and international identity for the organisation. The website was required to be the main source of information about the Group and reflect their position as a market leader and fast-growing company at the forefront of the industry.
An additional requirement of the brief was to work alongside Global Ports’ financial PR agency Citigate Dewe Rogerson to deliver investor relations materials and presentations.
The Answer:
Working within a tight timescale, we designed and produced a wide range of items:
- Corporate identity design
- Investor relations presentation template
- Stationery design
- Brand guidelines documentation
- Website design and build
- On-going website support and analytics.
For more information:
Visit Globalport’s case study at the WiseTiger website
Visit the Globalports website
Everyone Active Case Study
Posted: January 12, 2009 Filed under: Brands and Brand Design, Integrated case studies, Marketing and Advertising, Online case studies, Web Design and Online Communications, WiseTiger client case studies | Tags: Everyone Active, Web design, WiseTiger Leave a comment »
Everyone Active
Everyone Active is the UK’s number one activity brand managing more than 65 local authority Leisure Centres across England and Wales. Their objective is to promote the benefits of activity not only in their leisure centres, but at home, in the workplace, in parks and the countryside.
The brief:
Our brief from Everyone Active was to create a Content Managed website at the heart of their marketing activities. The website requirements included:
- Quick site navigation to find local Leisure Centres
- Leisure Centre content, timetables and news to be individually managed locally by Centre managers through the Content Management System
- Online registration for the Everyone Active card
- Information and advice for healthy, active lifestyles
- Downloadable fitness planners and workout guides
- A secure online activity planner for members to set goals, record their activity and manage their results
- Email marketing newsletters to customers and staff
- Accessible website content to support the objectives of local authorities.
The Answer:
Everyone Active’s website successfully reaches a wide range of audiences from young families to seniors, fitness freaks to couch potatoes. With more than 70,000 visitors per month the site has been well indexed by search engines and is delivering considerable cost savings to Everyone Active as their reliance on printed collateral is reduced.
For more information:
Visit Everyone Active’s case study at the WiseTiger website
Visit the Everyone Active website
The world’s most boring website
Posted: February 7, 2009 | Author: Simon Verrall | Filed under: Brands and Brand Design, Creative comment, Web Design and Online Communications | Tags: Brand Republic, Food and drink, Marketing, Simon says..., Web design | Leave a comment »KitKat creates the world’s dullest online experience
I just read a post at BrandRepublic about KitKat’s new website.
They report that KitKat have decided to go against the trend of exciting, interactive and compelling websites by developing a website that is really dull and boring. An online experience where nothing happens.
The website is called www.thefirstworldwidewebsitewerenothinghappens.com (please note the dreadful spelling mistake in the domain name!). And quite literally, nothing happens. If you can be bothered to sit and look at it for long enough you might see a bug flying across the screen. An e-mail address is provided for consumers to report any of these “bugs”. Yawn…
Is this website clever, or smart or engaging? I’m afraid it does nothing for me.
Come on KitKat, give us a break.