The turn of a year always prompts some navel contemplation [‘where did that go?’], the inevitable resolutions to get fit and some crystal ball gazing. For bd2, 2011 was a great year with some exciting, ever bigger and ever more complex projects undertaken or underway for an ever growing client base. The combination of which led to business growth of 34% – which we’re quite chuffed with given all the general economic doom and gloom.
2012 promises to be equally exciting with some large scale web-projects in production – we’re soon to launch our most ambitious integrated e-commerce site for longstanding client Ralawise and have begun to develop a major intranet based ‘vehicle’ for HP Enterprise Services.
We’re building our first mobile sites as our b2b clients look to harness the accessibility and capabilities of smartphone technologies following the b2c trend which has seen mobile and tablet use grow exponentially in 2011. This growth is set to continue as Tony Foggett, MD of Code Computer Love, commented recently: ‘If 2011 has been the year when mobile technologies emerged in earnest, 2012 will be the year when brands really start to take advantage of smartphone and tablet usage. Mobile offers an amazing marketing platform with which to innovate from.” Social media will also, undoubtedly, continue to grow in importance for b2b as it has for b2c with its unique offering of engagement and dialogue which is driving all brands to show a compassionate side aligned to a genuine corporate social responsibility strategy. With broadband speeds providing a near broadcast TV experience, the use of video will also continue to grow. But the key to success online, whatever the platform or media, is an integrated strategy – aligned with your offline marketing strategy – and quality content “As current digital platforms mature and more emerge, content will remain a key differentiator for e-commerce and brand building activities in 2012. The importance of clever creative thinking and technology remains – if not becomes more important.”
To meet this need, we’re opening a new 750sq ft photography studio at our premises to provide a resource for still photography such as product shots including all colourways, 3D rotates and zooms along with roomset, as well as video for corporate sites and e-commerce requirements such as catwalks for clothing and apparel. Having the studio on site will allow us to provide a very cost effective service and a very rapid response as we’ll be able to shoot, re-touch, colour balance and add product images to sites in a couple of hours.
March will see the launch of our ‘Creative Wigan’ online directory which we’ve developed and donated to the local creative sector to enable prospective clients from both public and private sectors to source services from creative, digital or ICT businesses on their doorstep. The launch event is penciled in for Friday 2nd March with MP Andy Burnham now confirmed it’s hoped he will be joined by other local MPs, leading public sector figures and captains of industry to help raise the profile of the local talent within the sector and, if the anticipated 100+ do turn up,
it might get some media coverage too!
