Tag archives: new website

BBC version 2.0

The new BBC website is now online and is worth a visit. It has been designed like a netvibes or an iGoogle. You can cutomize the homepage: change its colour or the font, choose the topics you are interested into, edit them, and move them around with a click & drag action.

It is interesting to see how this media institution tries to keep itself up to date, and manage to go through the ages.

The homepage is easy to use. But the biggest challenge was probably not to be graphically boring and sad, as that kind of platforms can end up being. And if the layout is inevitably very structured and strict the design is not too bad after all, and you hope the other old school BBC sections will soon be inspired for their design!

File under: bbc, new website

Asahi launches new lifestyle site

If you’re interested in beers (marketing) there’s the new Asahi UK website to check out. It has been launched recently and it actually still misses some contents that will be activated over the next few days. The site is illustration-based and quite stylish, and it presents the kind of content beer brands/cool brands are expected to propose: music, events and lifestyle. The design of the site is very nice, but the experience in the end is not as promising as it looks at first sight. Interactivity is missing and also the content lacks a touch of originality (but the music in the lounge room is quite cool). Of course, since the site has just gone live, I understand it’s too early to judge… (but they’ve presented the launch of NMA, so…) Maybe I’m just not a big fan of “soft launches”… there’s so much to out there to see, that if you launch something new you must be sure that the first visitors will fall in love immediately with your work. Unfortunately I feel that there isn’t much room for second dates in the online world. To look promising but not exciting is no longer enough to appeal consumers and generate regular visits, especially when you position yourself as a lifestyle brand, and you aim at delivering your lifestyle message through content such as guides to cool places and music. What do you think?

File under: asahi, beer, new website

British Airways to relaunch its website

British Airways is about to relaunch its website to increase the ticket sales online. As explained on BrandRepublic, an internal team is working on the new site. The news site also reports BA is investing £200m in improving the travellers’ experience to fight the competition of low cost carriers, by reducing the cost and increasing the overall customer experience.

File under: british airways, new website, relaunch

Adidas Megaride, mega disappointment

Adidas is online with a pan-European campaign to promote its new shoe Megaride. Carat Interactive planned and created the ads currently appearing on the main European websites with young audiences. Daily Media reports the Megaride campaign is part of an online marketing effort Adidas has just started to prepare for the Germany 2006. In a couple of days it will debut with an online teaser focused on the strong relationship between football and the brand. The Megaride minisite is currently online in 6 different languages but, to tell the truth it’s a rather disappointing experience. The interface is very crowded but eventually the only content available connected to the new shoe is a store locator and a 3-d presentation. Apparently the Megaride is a very innovative shoe but, to me, the website fails to communicate this basic message…

File under: adidas, megaride, new website

The Mercedes-AMG online experience

Avenue A / Razorfish has created a new website for Mercedes-Benz AMG. Mercedes-AMG’s website takes users on an interactive drive of the AMG brand, automobiles and its unique headquarters in Affalterbach. The site’s design and handling mirrors the AMG racing driven experience. Scott Preacher, client partner of Avenue A / Razorfish East comments:

“Our goal was to build a web presence that clearly articulated the Mercedes-AMG brand while leveraging the latest in rich media technology. The new Mercedes-AMG website delivers a truly unique interactive experience — one that invites users to immerse themselves in the world of AMG automobiles.”

The site, available in English and German, is really nice and makes you perceive the Mercedes brand value. It makes a good use of video, but the sound design is rather poor. Don’t check the news section in the lounge, apparently no one tested it

File under: avenue a / razorfish, mercedes AMG, new website