|December 10th, 2012
The new Coca Cola website is a great specimen for a new generation of corporate websites that turn the traditional monolithic company description into a humanised, dynamic and engaging narrative.
We have isolated 7 features that make this website an inspiration for any organisation looking to improve the way it engages with its audience.
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|May 6th, 2012
We have just put our video portfolio on Vimeo which gives me a great opportunity to visit the topic of the use of video in corporate communications. It’s not an accident that, without exception, every company we come across recognises the value of video and wishes that video was more extensively used in both their internal and external communications. It’s easy to see why. Switched-on professionals wrestle daily with an information tsunami that comes from countless sources and in nano-sized chunks. Video on the other hand offers a few moments of sitting back and enjoying the ride; a piece of well-crafted video communication delivers dense content in an engaging way that requires minimum effort to consume it and delivers maximum impact.
Below we list the five most typical uses of video in corporate communications and illustrate each with an example from our portfolio.
Bring to life sales presentations
A pacey 60 second opening will ensure that you grab your audience’s attention from the very beginning and that your key message remains etched in their brains long after you exit the room.
|April 29th, 2012
For most corporations, a mobile app catering for the investors’ voracious appetite for information is still considered a luxury. However, such an app makes perfect sense as not only does it make information available 24/7, but also it plants your brand in the hands of your target audience. Below we are exploring 10 such apps as well as 2 additional corporate apps that are not aimed at investors but still worth looking at for their exceptional user experience.
Unilever
This is one of the best looking apps. It is fast, simple, slick and rich in content. It makes great use of video and keeps PDFs to a minimum.
TVlogic
This app, probably created for the South Korean market, is rich in content, formats, as well as attitude. Although not the best looking app out there, it uses strong graphics that make browsing a more tactile experience.
|April 16th, 2012
Bring your content marketing to life with an interactive timeline. We did some research on the topic for a client and below are our best findings.
Visually interesting timeline created by the BBC and featuring zoom-in functionality and filters. It suffers a bit from the vertical text and the fact that there is no actual information provided until we zoom in.
Unusual pseudo-3D timeline created by the Guardian with information spread across the x and z axes. It looks good but it lacks any user controls other than navigating back and forth in time. Also, each link clicks through to a new page making this timeline more of a fancy index page rather than a contained experience.
Visual extravagance created by the British Library. It features filters, favourites, screen shots and a carousel-like navigation mechanism. The layout feels a bit cluttered and the information included is a bit of a let down; it leaves you wishing it was as elaborate as the navigation.
A very simple timeline created by The New York Times. It would work a lot better if the markers on the timeline were easier to click on.
Another pseudo-3D timeline featuring a long horizontal scroll. It has a nice feel to it, but it could benefit from a non-linear mechanism that allows users to jump to any point of the timeline without having to rely on the scroll-bar or wait for the animation to get them there.
A busy timeline marking events with dots, like the BBC’s timeline above. And like the BBC above, the issue is that the main “dotted” view does not provide any actual information and therefore offers zero value to the user. A close-up view like in the 9/11 timeline would ensure instant user engagement.
200 Years of the New England Journal of Medicine
A very complex timeline featuring a number of navigation tools and filters spread across multiple axes. Parts of it look good, but overall the UX has a whiff of interactive CDs from the late 90s. It could benefit from full screen viewing, more legible text and simplified navigation.
Visually arresting interactive infographic combining a timeline with multiple layers of information. The upside-down text is a bit of a UX nightmare and the physical split between the timeline and the info wheel requires the user to go back and forth between the two to make any sense of it, but it looks simple and it almost convinces that it actually is.
Created by No 10, this is the first non-Flash timeline we came across. It works really well, but is let down by the big image in the background that offers little value and makes the whole experience visually busy and tiring.
A simple timeline that features a neat filter and a series of flying panels holding the information. It works well, but the panel animation is a bit annoying after a while.
|May 11th, 2011
First was the big green button. More than 10 years ago charities and charitable sponsors started using it and soon it was everywhere. The text read: “Click here and we will donate 1p for each click”. Nowadays, a Tweet does just as well. It’s simple, instant and rewarding both for the service/product provider and the audience.
Here is an example from Twittercounter
And here are some other examples of how Pay with a Tweet is being used: http://www.paywithatweet.com/cases.html
|January 7th, 2011
I have been doing some research for a client around video storytelling with graphics and text (infographics). A well written, designed and executed infographic video can be a lot more captivating, memorable and effective than corporate, and usually unphotogenic, talking heads delivering the same message.
B2B companies, especially ones that sell complex services and products, are the perfect candidates for infographic videos . When your message is multi-layered, composed of a mixture of features, benefits, tips, results and testimonials, an infographic video will increase reach, boost recall and also help your audience to better understand what’s on offer. The video, being a portable asset, can sit on your website, on your YouTube channel, on your blog, in PowerPoint to open your presentations, or even on your tablet PC and impress people over a cup of tea.
Some of the topics are cause related, but our criteria when compiling the list have been 100% cause agnostic.
Performance Enhancement from Kenichi on Vimeo.
|December 1st, 2010
Sheridan&Co, one of UK’s leading retail design agencies, are looking to strengthen their market position as innovators and thought leaders and to expand their brand reach online. Skyron has come onboard to device a Social Media Strategy that will help Sheridan&Co redefine their corporate communications. Sheridan&Co’s unique proposition and strong brand personality make them the perfect candidate for community building and content marketing.
|September 15th, 2010
As an avid user of RSS and Google Reader I find feeds without content really irritating. An example is Marketing Week’s feeds that arrive with only a subject line and with nothing else. Marketing Week must be pretty confident that their subjects are attractive enough to incite double action. I say double action, because the user has to first click on the feed subject to open it and then click again to visit the original article on the source site. Imagine sending out emails to your audience with no content at all, but only a subject line!
|September 8th, 2010
Salamander are an award-winning company offering Enterprise Performance Governance solutions and software to the Defence, National Security and Private sectors. Salamander has a number of requirements: a refreshed visual identity, more clarity in its brand communications and a website and other digital channels that fully exploit the company’s extensive intellectual capital for marketing and lead generation purposes.
Salamander is a specialist B2B company doing very clever stuff and run by talented people with immense knowledge and an uncontrollable desire to share it. A niche offering and valuable thought leadership are great foundations for effective B2B digital communications.
|May 9th, 2010
Your organisation is an unstoppable content generation machine. Whether you are in technology, telecommunications, publishing, financial or professional services, think about how much content you produce: news, press releases, research reports, white papers, case studies, insights, sales presentations, proposals, copy for your brochures, websites, products, solutions, manuals and the list goes on. Usually, content appears to just happen; nobody plans it, nobody owns it and nobody is checking to see if anyone out there is reading.
Typical pains associated with arbitrary content generation are:
Skyron is technology and marketing company helping clients achieve transformation through business insight, creativity, UX and technical innovation. Our analytical approach ensures that our strategic thinking, passion for creativity and technical capabilities deliver measurable results. The purpose of this blog is to share Skyron's news and launches, as well as our thoughts, observations and insights.
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