Monthly Archive for July, 2009

The Tip of the Iceberg

The home page of the Indicus Advisors' web site
Looks like a very simple little web site, doesn’t it? But the web site we created for Indicus Advisors is a little like the wardrobe door that leads to Narnia in the CS Lewis books; there’s a whole lot more than you would imagine behind that simple entrance.

The reason is that Indicus want to give information primarily to a select group of investors and potential investors, and to be recognised as a member of either group, you’ll need to apply to Indicus for a password which will give you access to the privileged areas in the site.

If you invest in one fund, then your password allows you access to information about it. Invest in more, and your password opens up more doors.

A site like this demands care in its creation and in its maintenance too. But it can pay important dividends (figuratively!) in building important links between a company and the people who really matter in the market.

Can Research Help You Build Market Share?

Sometimes, research is a powerful tool. Think about this as a model.

You start by asking questions about an issue that is live in your market. You give respondents the option to remain completely anonymous when they fill in your questionnaire. But, if they wish, they can leave a name and address and receive a full copy of the report when it’s complete. Give respondents an incentive to respond in the form of a donation to a charity.

Now, get the results in and compile the report. It should look credible and properly presented.

You can deliver that report to all the people who wanted it. You can feed the report into your PR campaign. (”Here’s what 200 managers said about…”). You could host a reception or seminar to tell clients or others about the results. You can use your web site to display headlines from the report you’ve written.

Do this once and it gets you noticed. Repeat it, and it begins to demonstrate your leadership qualities, and starts the all-important dialogue with potential clients that leads to new business.

We’ve successfully completed this programme with a law firm and a software company. It works!

Citroen Sport – Selling the Sponsor Package

Sports Media International commissioned this dramatic brochure to sell the Citroen Sport WRC package

Sports Media International commissioned this dramatic brochure to sell the Citroen Sport WRC package

Sports Media International help companies to select and evaluate sponsorship packages in many different sports – motorsport (cars and bikes), soccer and sailing are the principal ones used by the company’s clients – but from time to time it also sells sponsor packages to clients, like the Citroen World Rally Championship sponsor package. (More at www.citroen-wrc.com)

To help win attention, Wild West produced this stunning brochure, (in two languages) which utilised excellent photography and stunning design to deliver a real Wow! factor when it arrived on the desks of busy senior marketing officers at leading European companies.

Result? The sponsorship package was sold in weeks, even though it had  a substantial price tag, which reflected the kind of multi-country brand exposure that the sponsorship would provide.

Sports Media International are a long term Wild West client and partner too. Read more about what they are able to offer and the valuable experience they can provide on http://www.sports-media-intl.com/

As Sports Media will tell you, sport can be a huge factor in establishing brands (especially new brands from overseas) into the European market.

Wild West on Twitter!

Never ones to be left behind when it comes to new trends, Wild West design is now on Twitter. You can follow us at http://twitter.com/designwildwest

Explaining complex products – how the web can help

Some companies are so innovative that they have a tough job explaining just how their products work.

Take Secerno for example. Conventional wisdom says that to protect valuable information resources, you have to build a wall around it. The trouble is that when you do, the resources lose their value simply because they aren’t easily accessible, and anyway, the people who want to damage your databases, or steal them, may not be outside your company. What about the disgruntled employee passed over for a pay rise? Or the sales rep who is going to work for a competitor?

Secerno’s database security product works by looking at ‘normal’ patterns of use. Then, when something odd happens (the sales rep tries to download all your customer data, for example), alarms are triggered and the potential damage can be stopped.

Now, that isn’t so easy to explain, but an animated diagram on the Secerno web site does it much better than we can do here, just using words. Take a look at http://www.secerno.com/howitworks/diags.html

Animations like this can help potential buyers to appreciate just what it is that your product or service is offering.

The Cocktail Hour

Stock's Appletini recipe

Stock's Appletini recipe

Part of Wild West’s assignment for Stock Spirits was to develop a set of web sites for the company – starting with a corporate site and then moving to other operating companies and areas. A key feature of the Stock Spirits corporate web site, (which you can find at the following URL – www.stockspiritsgroup.com) is of course, the wonderful photography of the drinks which Wild West sourced to suit the bright and lively concept. Another benefit is that if you click the ‘recipe’ button down in the bottom right corner, you get the cocktail recipe which matches the photo, in a pop up window. Here: the perfect appletini!

Do your pictures tell a story?

Imagery can tell a powerful story

Imagery can tell a powerful story

Yes, we all know what one picture is worth, but are those thousand words important to your clients? What could they say about you and your products? Could they introduce your company more effectively?

When we worked on a new literature theme for telecomms software specialists Tribold, we wanted to emphasise the importance of the individual in huge global markets. (www.tribold.com – Wild West also designed the Tribold logo)

When we looked for ways to dramatise the three-dimensional sound picture that Sonaptic were able to provide, we tried to find images that would show what Sonaptic technology meant to end-users. (Sonaptic was bought shortly after, by Wolfson Micro – someone must have been impressed!).

The annual reports we produce for marine insurance specialist Charles Taylor featured stormy seas this year, a reflection of conditions in the global shipping market, and in investment markets where it gains much of the income to offset insurance costs. (www.standard-club.com)

Whatever your message to the world, the imagery you use – on printed materials, advertising, and on web and electronic resources – should be appropriate, consistent and help to deliver an immediate impression.

Zelens Skin Science – International Web Marketing

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Zelens Skin Science is an almost legendary range of anti-ageing skincare products, formulated by Dr Markko Lens. These handsomely packaged (and expensive!) products reach international markets through a website designed and maintained by Wild West. Customers around the world can read reviews and testimonials, browse the complete range of products and purchase, all through a single global web presence. www.zelens.com