brand new look for Cecelia Ahern
Overview
Big Picture Interactive was invited to take part in a competitive pitch for a
new website for Cecelia Ahern, on behalf of publishers Harper Collins
in January 2011.
Cecelia Ahern is a best selling author who has written many well loved
books; PS, I Love You, Where Rainbows End, If You Could See Me Now
and many more. Cecelia Ahern has a large fan base and the brief was to
create a website with a new look and feel, which would also support
different communication channels, allowing the customer to manage the
ongoing content and manage the subscribers and users data.
A secondary requirement was a scalable site which could be adapted for international markets.
Big Picture Interactive proposed building the site using Amber CMS along with an eCRM system which would store user data, track user behaviour and integrate the existing email campaign manager. The design functionality co-ordinated the look and feel through different templates, across all communication channels from the website, email and Facebook pages.
The challenge
Our challenge was to create an intuitive and usable site that provided a clear platform for all Cecelia Ahern’s activities so that fans had access to as much information as possible. This covers Books, TV and Film, Events and Signings as well as a forum for fans to exchange ideas and stories, read Cecelia’s journal, host competitions and sign up for updates.
The CRM element of the project was tailored to allow the client to track user behaviour and link to their existing email manager.
A second german language site was also designed and built at the same time.
Our thinking
Big Picture Interactive created a new fresh look and feel for the site which has been adopted across the brand. The clean, bright look and feel reflects Cecelia’s personality and the site was designed to provide an engaging user journey. Users are encouraged to register for updates, enter competitions and participate in the discussions on the forum. We know Cecelia’s fans love to talk about her work so this was a key factor, empowering the fans to have their say on the site through the reviews, blog and forum sections.
What we delivered:
Using our Amber Content Management System, we created a site that can be easily updated, giving the management team tools to regularly update the content and give fans a reason to return to the site again and again. The site features image galleries, a book centre which allows the user to listen to audio books, read extracts and a link to purchase the book in a variety of formats in countries all over the world. It also has a competition module, events calendar, moderated forum, book reviews and Cecelia’s journal.
We linked the site to an eCRM which stores data and user behaviour so that it can be reviewed in line with user activity, allowing HarperCollins to review site activity to help them make decisions going forward.
The back end systems are integrated with an existing email system to deliver seamless email marketing campaigns.
A german language version of the site with different assets and content as well as different functionality to suit their market requirements was also delivered by BPI at the same time.
The sites are now live for the UK, Ireland and german markets;
www.cecelia-ahern.com
To drive awareness and have a wider reach, Big Picture Interactive built a
Facebook landing page / tab and developed a Facebook app to promote
their ‘Find yourself with Cecelia’ campaign which encourages users to
upload videos of themselves talking about Cecelia’s work.
The outcome
The two sites and Facebook elements were launched in October 2011. The feedback to date has been very positive from users, Harper Collins and Cecelia Ahern management.