Press Release - 11.10.09 - SloughforYOUth website - Communicating with the Digital Generation

SloughforYOUth website - Communicating with the Digital Generation

Slough has historically suffered from a reputation as an undesirable place to live and do business, but a new campaign created by digital communications agency E-creation for Slough Borough Council is revitalising Slough's image to reflect the vibrant activities, culture & business happening in the town.

Slough Borough Council commissioned E-creation, the award winning Bournemouth based digital marketing and communications agency, to develop a campaign across the digital and traditional channels. At the heart of the campaign is an online events directory that is part of the government's “e-directive”.

E-creation was brought in to 'jazz communications up' after the initial site implemented did not achieve the results expected. E-creation introduced urban, contemporary design and functionality in the form of a new logo, directory website, marketing materials for schools, digital adverts and social media marketing.

E-creation started by developing a new brand name and brand mark: SloughForYOUth. The new domain name, www.sloughforyouth.com, was implemented, the website re-designed from ground up, covering details of thousands of local events and activities for young people. Young people are able to plan their social activities, discover volunteering opportunities and access support and advice.

To raise the profile of the website, E-creation created a series of interactive advertisements for schools across Slough, a series of currency tokens that can be exchanged for free activities in Slough such as free swimming and a Flash animation featuring music written by Slough-based rising music star, Josh Cyrus.

In addition to focus groups in young people's centres and Slough’s youth cabinet, E-creation used social networking media sites such as Facebook to access instant, valuable feedback from a wide range of young people in Slough. This enabled the agency to capture highly creative ideas for the design & functionality.

Helen Mason, Project Coordinator for Slough Borough Council said, ‘E-creation facilitated an ongoing dialogue with young people throughout the design and technical process to ensure this resource was designed around the young people’s needs and requirements, delivering an excellent bespoke and efficient web based product that enabled the Council to provide comprehensive, accurate and accessible information on local positive activities and facilities for young people.’

[ENDS]

Notes: E-creation is an award-winning digital marketing agency creating digital business communications using scientific persuasion techniques & research. They offer creative design concepts & graphic design with intelligent functionality in websites, interactive CD-ROMs, digital presentations & online marketing campaigns working with many of the UK’s government organisations, such as the NHS, the Learning & Skills Council, City & Guilds, Transport for London and Slough Borough Council.

For more information please contact Jan-Erik Paul using the details below.

'The Christmas card is dead!' - long live interactive viral Christmas cards, Christmas games & Christmas e-mail marketing tools!

The Christmas card is dead - long live interactive viral Christmas cards, Christmas games & Christmas e-mail marketing tools!

Updated September 2009

Christmas is a good excuse for viral marketing - and every year around October, E-creation starts to receive an influx of enquiries for 'Christmas games that can have our logo applied'. Brand-able viral marketing games at Christmas are a cost effective way to produce a 'different' Christmas card but businesses need to think carefully about how they use viral marketing, even when there appears to be a good 'excuse' in the form of Christmas, to effectively spam people!

Viral marketing has become an important part of the marketing mix but has evolved significantly from the early days when it was possible to e-mail attachments that included 'working' games. Modern viral marketing takes the form of videos on YouTube, Tweets on Twitter, unique micro sites, Facebook games and the simple 'funny' image.

Many businesses see the Christmas season as an opportunity to use viral communications that is justified for existing & potential customers. This can take the form of interactive viral Christmas cards, viral Christmas games & even more the more basic, viral animated Christmas card delivered by e-mail. However, these are marketing tools aimed at either building the relationship with the customer or creating new opportunities with new customers, in disguise, so you need make sure that you deliver value to the recipient.

For this reason, when developing marketing tools like interactive Christmas cards or Christmas games, it is very import to be 'contextual'. In other words, if you business is selling smoked turkeys, then any interactive content created should feature turkeys (though in some humorous way naturally). This builds a deeper connection between your brand (which should feature prominently within the content), your product and the 'positive' feeling experienced by the person experiencing the marketing marterials you have sent (disguised as an interactive Christmas card).

A classic example of this missed opportunity is the 'elf tossing' game, which achieved massive popular presence - most people had played or at least heard about the game - but no one was aware of which company the game was promoting.

For this reason, when designing & developing interactive Christmas cards or Christmas games for our clients, E-creation spends a large chunk of time developing a strong conceptual 'backbone' to the content, that not only makes the content engaging and interesting, but builds the profile of an organisation. This approach is more time consuming (and therefore more costly) than simple applying a company logo and name to a 'pre-prepared' Christmas card or Christmas game - and for this reason - most of our clients tend to be larger organisations with a large database of customers or potential contacts that they can send the content to, reducing the 'cost-per-contact'.

For example, a typical interactive game developed for Christmas costs on average cost £8,000. If viewed by 50,000 people, then the cost per 'contact' is 16p per person - or significantly less than the cost of a second class stamp.

Oct 09 update - Multimedia marketing vs. traditional marketing? How do they compare and what are the benefits of digital marketing?

Multimedia marketing vs. traditional marketing?

How do they compare and what are the benefits of digital marketing?

In an ever increasingly competitive marketing environment, finding a marketing edge is important. For companies who have not yet adopted multimedia as part of their marketing mix, there is a great opportunity to push their marketing to the next stage.

Multimedia marketing is based around interactive, screen-based presentation of information and can include elements such as video, audio, animation and interactivity, all of which add up to a more engaging experience.

90% of businesses have to sell proactively their services and products. It is true that a lucky few have products which do not require marketing and promotion, but in a competitive market, you need to effectively demonstrate why your product is better than your competitors. Multimedia, when done right, delivers significant advantages over traditional marketing materials.

What are the actual benefits of multimedia marketing:

Print cost-savings
Printing traditional brochures is expensive when compared with CD-ROMs, particularly if the brochure contains many pages. CD-ROMs can be duplicated for as little as 15p per unit but contain thousands of pages of information.

Distribution cost-savings
Posting a CD-ROM is much cheaper than posting a 25 page A4 brochure - by as much as 75%, depending on the weight of paper and cover. This saving can be reflected in better quality information within the marketing piece.

Greater impact
Using multimedia allows companies to show-off their products in the best possible way by using video, graphics, animations and audio - maximising the impact of their marketing.

Increased flexibility
Did you know that it is possible to update information on a CD-ROM using the Internet? Unlike a brochure which when printed can not be changed, CD-ROMs can be programmed so that the information can be updated over the Internet on an ongoing basis.

Better PR coverage
Papers and magazine are more likely to notice and give coverage to a well presented CD-ROM than a traditional brochure, even though CD-ROM technology has been in use for over 10 years.

High retention level
It has been proven that (on average), people remember 20% of what they read but remember 70% of what they experience through interactive multimedia. If you want people to remember your company, then multimedia is the way to go.

Image boosting
By using CD-ROMs, companies demonstrate their commitment to technology and therefore improve the image they project about their attitude to the future of business.

Increased distribution by clients themselves
Content on CD-ROMs can be printed and duplicated by the potential customer as often as he/she wants, enabling him/her to distribute your information at will.

Of course, one could argue that not everyone has computers. But then the questions is, are you likely to be doing business with the type of person or company who never uses a computer?