As we all know the attraction experience no longer starts at the entrance gate, it starts online. The challenge for marketers is to make sure that their digital properties engage visitors, not just ahead of the experience they offer, but during and afterwards too.

So how do marketers keep visitors digitally engaged and use their positive experiences to bring them back as well as recruit their friends to come along next time too?

Take a look at some of the models that we have produced to explain how we think you should be looking at this challenge, and get a feel for the wealth of tips and ideas in the report, by looking at these preview graphics on the author's Pinterest page.   

If you would like to recieve a copy of the report when it launches next week, email us at contact@precedent.au.com. 

And if you would like to come along to our free seminars where we will reveal all the thinking from the report and beyond, you can register here.

If you would like to find out more about the THRIVE campaign, our presentation at CASE Europe 2012 conference is available on our YouTube channel (below).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjgQOeYT8tI

Having carried out comprehensive research into the digital presence of 20 of Scotland’s best distilleries – Precedent presents in this report a snapshot of how Scottish companies are adopting digital opportunities and technologies to meet their marketing objectives. 

The report also includes recommendations for Scottish businesses who are looking to improve their digital strategy, giving them a sound understanding of the pitfalls and opportunities that exist for each technology and approach.

This report is now available free of charge, if you would like to request a copy please email reports@precedent.co.uk. 

The Monash partnership began in 2010 with the design, development and strategy project for the Universities’ 4 campuses in Victoria. The project also included extensive stakeholder and audience research which was undertaken at Monash campuses in Melbourne, regional Victoria and Malaysia to fully understand best practice for Monash online.

This in depth understanding was applied to the Chinese microsite, which commenced in 2011 and was specifically tailored to the Chinese higher education market. To coincide with this we created user-centric information architecture and wireframes that support Chinese and English navigation, content and media.

The new look and feel for the Monash South Africa site follows the style and design of the previous sites, and creates a consistent experience for users across multiple campuses. The redesign is apart of Monash’s ongoing project to refresh all International campus websites, in Italy, Malaysia and India. 

We were thrilled to be invited back to speak about our recent campaign with Cardiff University, ‘Thrive’, which Lindsay co-presented with Louise Casella, Director of Strategic Development from Cardiff University.

The presentation discussed the ideas and strategies that made the Thrive campaign a success. Louise candidly revealed not just the hard facts of the campaign, but also its softer achievements in bringing the university together and developing an understanding of the benefits of a high profile digitally led campaign. Lindsay offered the agency view and clearly demonstrated how her understanding of the social space that potential students occupy was leveraged with the help of current students to attract potential students to Cardiff.

This is the fifth year we have been to the conference and as usual we had a very full agenda. In amongst manning our stand in the exhibition hall, attending presentations and speeches from some of Europe’s top educational marketing specialists, hosting a dinner for the CASE volunteers, and networking at the opening reception and the closing gala dinner. Adrian has expanded on his highlights from the event on our blog.

 If you weren’t able to make it to the conference, you can view Thrive presentation here. 

The focus of the Melbourne office will be pushing into new markets around eastern Australia. We’re hoping to really shake up Melbourne’s digital industry with our unparalleled reports, seminars, expertise and experience.

Developing your website to be accessible on mobile devices can be a confusing process; picking the wrong mobile approach can result in your website falling short of users' expectations and a misunderstanding of technological developments can mean missing valuable opportunities.

This paper provides an in depth exploration of the solutions and gives you the tools to help make crucial decisions ensuring you choose the right option for your business.

RSPCA engaged Precedent to design and develop this campaign microsite.  

Sean Gardiner, Head of Precedent Australia said: “Having worked together previously on the Political Animal Australia project, www.politicalanimal.org.au, for federal and state elections and on the digital strategy for this national charity we are very happy to work with RSPCA Australia again for yet another great cause.

Campaigns are about people – reacting, doing, banding together – and Precedent came up with creative ideas putting RSPCA’s users in the heart of both the campaign and online experience, complementing offline activities and making the most of this micro site as well as incorporating social media.

This is an exciting start to a potentially four year long campaign to influence and engage politicians and egg producers to do the right thing and for egg consumers to spend an extra 20 cents to buy cage-free eggs - all to get hens out of cages once and for all.

It also asks whether these organisations are really embracing the opportunities that the contemporary digital landscape presents, and if they have the necessary marketing and brand strategies in place to leverage them.

What did we do?

In order to inform and build on our understanding of the sector we conducted an online survey where over 60 different membership organisations answered a number of questions about the internal and external communications challenges that they face and their use o the digital space. We then conducted a series of interviews with senior stakeholders from a variety of different organisations.

What does the report contain?

The report is framed around seven themes. It offers a series of digital actions relative to different stages of the membership lifecycle that organisations could potentially employ to address the issues. Finally the report emphasises the need for coherent digital and brand strategies, and reveals a representative framework model which all organisations should aspire to.

The themes covered include:

Communicating the value of membership
Too much content, too many sources
The right community for the right audience
Knowing when to leave members alone
Mobile is here, now
Our most valued asset: the magazine
Physically growing or digitally reaching

Finally, the report will bring these themes together and illustrate how co-ordinated digital and brand strategies can be developed to ensure organisation-wide buy-in and communication coherence.

The report is due to be released in June 2012. If you would like to receive a copy please register for it now and we will be sure to send you a copy as soon as it is published.

We are also holding a free breakfast seminar to discuss our findings in more detail.

Formed in 1994, Dana’s rapid growth and financial success has made it a stock market favourite in recent years. Under new ownership and with a dynamic new management team in place, the company has exciting plans to develop operations beyond its existing bases in the North Sea, Norway, The Netherlands, Egypt and West Africa. The rebrand is designed to strengthen and support this international growth.

Director of Group Communications and External Affairs, Andrew McCallum said:

“We’re delighted to be working with Precedent on the development of a brand positioning that will stretch from oil and gas rigs 200 km offshore, to the company’s new headquarters in Aberdeen, to a new online and social media presence. Our new identity is a central pillar in the broader communications and external affairs programme we’ll be delivering in 2012 and beyond.”

After a competitive bid process, this was a truly satisfying win for Precedent and one which we are very much looking forward to getting stuck in to.

From working extensively with clients looking to extend their reach, we know that sussing out a target audience on their home turf and really understanding their needs is crucial if an internationally targeted project is to succeed. It is this certainty, or peace of mind, that we are developing and securing for our clients as the world gets smaller and audiences get bigger.

Paul’s looking at a very hectic schedule during which time he hopes to reassure our current and prospective clients that we’re working with the highest calibre of digital experts across the three major cities. 

Shortly after Paul’s return in November, Mark Sherwin, commercial director, will head out to Australia. Among many things, Mark will be co-presenting two usability seminars in Perth and Melbourne and co-hosting the launch party for Precedent Perth’s enlarged office. Crucially, Mark will be visiting Melbourne where the foundations for Precedent’s next Australian office have been laid.

Both Paul and Mark’s trips signify a very successful 2011 for Precedent as we continue to grow our reputation and spread our expertise internationally. We are looking forward to developing our partnerships abroad, working on even more international projects and seeing our Melbourne office open for business in 2012. 

The brief for the students involves conceptualising creative solutions in a bid to change the behaviour of Cardiff residents in regards to local transport. The aim of the council's existing campaign, KeepCardiffMoving is to encourage residents to replace their cars with other forms of transport and make Cardiff a Sustainable Travel City. The students will have to think about how to target their audiences and consider any obstacles to communicating this message, as well as suggest and create solutions to tackle the issue.

For Precedent's part, senior designer Ed Richards will be holding meetings once a week over the next four weeks, with one of eight small groups of students in Precedent's Cardiff office. Ed will mentor the students through the project, discussing ideas, giving feedback and setting deadlines. He will be drawing on their strengths and helping to tease the most from their creativity.

The aim of the project is really two-fold: on the one hand there's a live brief which, if the final submission is to the council's liking, could be implemented by Cardiff Council and be a shining example of home-grown talent from students at UWIC. On the other, it is to help educate the students giving them exposure to the design community, real work experience and generally giving them a feel for the industry.

Mark will be speaking on Thursday 20th October, in session 5 at 1600. 

Find out more about NAPF's Annual Conference & Exhibtion 2011. 

We are contributing two talks to the event:

Getting the formual right: optimised mobile design + considered content = success

Wednesday 31st August, breakout session 4, 12:00 - 12:45

In this talk Nicholas Oliver will tackle the issues surrounding going mobile and argue why it should be considered for every digital strategy. He will look at some best practice around the options open to you as well as how you can hope to deliver and extend your mobile platform. 

The business of universities

Wednesday 31st August, breakout session 6, 16:00 - 17:30

Paul Hoskins, Precedent's founder and chairman, will consider the allure of a new third revenue stream for universities through consultancy and business services. Few universities understand the real costs of delivering third stream services and most struggle to do so within the constraints of a structure optimised for teaching, learning and research. Paul and the panel will examine the good, the bad and the ugly of third stream university marketing communications and present a vision for a commercially focused, agile and market-led operation. This session will be an interactive debate with senior leaders and the audience to discuss the controversial idea that universities need to see themselves as mainstream operations.

We will also be exhibtiing at stand 27 in the main hall at the conference centre, so please do pop along and say hello. We always enjoy seeing new and old faces at CASE events - see you there!

If you work for one of the 50 financial service companies that we looked at then clearly you will be interested in our findings. And of course if you work for any other bank, asset management company, building society or you work in assurance, insurance or life and pensions, then you will no doubt recognise some of your peers in its pages.

However, even if you are not in the financial world, but are involved in social media, the user experience, mobile, governance or digital strategy, there will be something of interest to you.

What's in it?

You will discover the degree to which UK financial service companies are using the contemporary digital landscape and what they are using it for. Along the way you will see examples of good and bad practice, receive strategic tips on the use of a variety of digital channels from our experts, understand some of the opportunities that these channels offer and, of course, see what we think about the overarching online financial landscape.

Why 'Integration or isolation?'

In its conceptual stages this title was intended to pose the question as to whether these companies' digital channels are integrated and serving a common purpose. However, as our research progressed, a bigger question emerged. We wondered whether internally these companies have an integrated model capable of making best use of the contemporary digital landscape as it is now and as it evolves or whether they are working in isolation towards independent departmental and individual goals?

Certainly we found only a few examples where companies clearly have the team, the expertise and the underpinning strategy in place to take coherent advantage of the opportunities of The Digital Landscape for UK Financial Services.

For your copy of the report simply request online or drop us an email at reports@precedent.co.uk, including finance in the subject line.

Drop by our London studio on Tuesday 26 July from 2pm - 5pm, when the creative team will be on hand to chat through your portfolio, give feedback and discuss options for starting your career in a UK top 10 design agency. You can have a snoop around the studio, see how we work and why considering starting your career at Precedent could be the best thing you ever did.

Our design team will also give a short presentation showcasing the kind of projects we work on here at Precedent, highlighting the opportunities that come from working here to grow, develop and ease in to working life.

While the main event will be held in our London studio, our Cardiff and Edinburgh offices will also be open to any inquisitive graduates who would like to find out more and gain some valuable feedback. Who knows, if you're the right person, we might find a place for you...

If you'd like to say hello and take advantage of some free creative advice with the possibility of landing yourself a job, drop us a line on twitter @PrecedentJobs with the tag #PrecGradEvent.

Come and show us what you've got!

The Play to Learn initiative was initially created to encourage 3–7 year olds to develop their physical and creative movement skills using fun story-based character books, printed materials and a CD-ROM.

Now, Sport Wales, whose main site was also designed by Precedent, has teamed up with us again to create a diverse and engaging subsite to bring online life to the characters from the books.

Although the Play to Learn website's primary focus is to help children play and learn at home with their parents, it is a useful extension to the resources that Sport Wales provides for schools too. It has a children's section full of exciting animation, while the grown-ups' area has more in depth advice on how to help children learn about physical movement.

Importantly, the site demonstrates the compatibility of practical activity, playing and having fun with skill development for physical, as well as creative movement.

From a technical point of view, the bilingual site, which is built in Umbraco, was fully integrated in to Sport Wales' main website, while integration with YouTube brings in the animations and video clips.

Practically, users move through the site by following the step-by-step 'Learn Skills' application. Here, the user can pick from 1 of 5 characters, before 1 of 5 locations, and then 1 of 33 activities to learn and practise a physical activity.

Coinciding with the launch of the all-new Play to Learn site, Sport Wales is also championing a brand new online shop which will sell Play to Learn products from box sets for schools with info and games to CDs and guides for families at home.

While the site is colourful, fun and interactive, it is crucial to note that the Play to Learn initiative is more than just a marketing campaign; its driving interest is to change the lives of young children through sport.

The Play to Learn initiative contributes to Sport Wales' aspiration to get every child hooked on sport for life by encouraging children to participate and enjoy sport from an early age, and continue into adulthood. Sport Wales also hopes to encourage more parents and volunteers to roll their sleeves up and join in on the fun as they have so much to offer this mission.

Head of People and Programme Development (PPD) at Sport Wales, Helen Hughes said:

"The key to Play to Learn is providing every child and young person with the skills and confidence from an early age to be physically literate through high quality, engaging sporting experiences.

"We're confident that the new online resource will complement the package perfectly and prove another successful tool in developing skills for participation into the future."

He leaves Precedent's functioning in the trusted and capable hands of the newly appointed managing director, Neil Davis and commercial director, Mark Sherwin.

Neil joined Precedent four years ago and has been at the heart of the company's function as operations director. From resourcing through to finances, Neil has consistently made sure Precedent remains on an even keel. Mark, a Precedent veteran, has been with the company for 15 years. He has seen it evolve and change from a small consultancy in to the respected digital agency it is today. He moves from the post of business development director, having donned many hats to help Precedent achieve its success.

Paul Hoskins said: "I am absolutely delighted with how the company has thrived through the last 12 months. I am very excited by the new energy, staff and projects that have emerged and it is because of all this I am able to take a step back from the day to day running of the business to focus on entirely new initiatives and opportunities for Precedent's growth."

Precedent's board is also set to see a boost as a result ofthis success with new appointments to cover technical, creative and strategy over the coming months; most notably, we are delighted that Phil Jones, Podge founder and all round industry guru, has joined Precedent as a board advisor.

All of these changes are the result of a truly successful 2010, something we hope to enhance and continue through 2011.