DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Background
My agency was first established before the web was a marketing tool and therefore print was the major channel. It had grown and was well established as a ‘brochure agency’. Even though, over the years I had driven our move to CGI as opposed to photography (delivering benefits to our clients and our revenue), we were still seen as doing brochures.
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We had grown our CGI capabilities to be amongst the best in the world at creating still images that could not be differentiated from photography but this was a manual, artist lead process.
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We were built on Craft and Creative. I needed to maintain the focus on the craftsmanship but find a way to turn up the technology.
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Action
Although we needed to become heavily digital, it was also important that we did not lose the massive advantage that the brochure channel brought us. Because our brochure work was, in some cases being delivered globally, owning the brochure meant owning content.
This was not just the CGI images that were created for all countries, but the text in local language, and the technical specifications. So, we needed to go way beyond brochures but not lose the brochures.
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In terms of the brochures, we built a digital platform to take the existing artworks and turn them into interactive downloadable brochures. At the same time, we introduced a new format of mobile first brochures for any new projects.
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Our CGI was world class but still somewhat traditional in its creation. We partnered with Epic Games to introduce Unreal Engine into our Pipeline. This allowed us to move into high end VR, touch screen experiences and cloud-based asset on demand solutions. This combined with other software driven solutions allowed us to automate content. This was critic when working with global clients whose thirst for variable content was immense.
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Once we had transitioned our products/services we needed to reposition ourselves. This was done by moving our thinking to “Art and Science”. It was not just a catchy line, we talked about it, we used it visually within the website, our creds presentations, and our social posts. It became the foundation of our communications.
Results
Over a 3 year period, the agency business flipped to being digitally lead with printed brochures as one on many deliverables we were commissioned to create.
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We created mobile and web based interactive experiences across 60+ markets. Moved into experiences touch screen, VR, and created retail sales experiences. Our commercial model expanded to include a SAAS solution.
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We became known as a content and experience company. This shift opened new clients within the wider agency group and give us more to talk about in social posts and presentations.