Sky High or Free Fall: All Aboard the Web Roller-Coaster

David SweeneyVice-Principal, Royal Holloway

Evolution

Research-ledRANKING INSTITUTION

1. Cambridge2. London School of Economics3. Oxford4. Imperial College London5. Warwick6. York7. University College London8. Bristol9. ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON10. St Andrews

(Research Assessment Exercise 2001)

Web: First Car or Last

• IT First• Marketing Last• Looking through each others’ eyes?

Web Aims & Objectives

• Improve communication to widen knowledge and understanding of the College

• Promote a consistent visual identity and navigation to present a united front

• Add value to activities and relationships• Develop online services to enhance interaction• Replace paper where appropriate

A Bumpy Ride

• Successes and Failures• Understanding customer needs • Benchmarking• Understanding why web-sites really work• Varying literacy skills• Different styles of information engagement

• Some very flawed research

Holy Grails

• Often Technology-driven• Open-Standards• Accessibility• The Mobile revolution• Content Management• E-learning• Blogs• E-commerce• Personalisation

• How much time wasted?

Marketing

• Dare we learn from the experts?• Should we trust the experts?• Can we engage with the experts?• Budgets?

‘Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably’

CIM

Branding

• What you think about yourself and your key messages

• Customer perception• Useful framework for thinking but don’t take yourself

too seriously• Poses some very hard questions

Who are we?

• What’s special about us?• What are our key messages?• Who are our key audiences?

Why students like Royal Holloway

Consultation

• Focus Groups• Surveys• Market Research• Lots of meetings• Internal Roadshow• Comparator research

A Rallying Cry

• Distilling the Essence• Developing the Messages• Creating a Visual Style• Going for broke• Rolling out in all media

Lessons learned?

• Not all consultants are hopeless….but most are.• IT people aren’t always right… • What’s wrong with blinkers anyway? • Marketeers contribute a stream of consciousness• Market Research helps• Creative people think they’re always in charge

Lessons learnt?

• VCs think they are in charge• Direct marketing to VCs is awful

• It’s going to take time• Working together can make a difference….

and learn from each otherWork together