Lime Interactive Advertising along with its parent company Atelier Studios will design and build the new Connect Group corporate website and create three new brands and websites for the Connect Group’s specialist divisions of Connect IT, Connect Rail and Connect Energy. Once the branding development exercise is completed, these three new e-recruit websites will be designed and built for expected launch in July 2009.

Atelier Studios is recognised in the digital industry for its extensive experience and skills in building specialist e-recruitment websites.

High Street fashion rejectionists and fervent style hounds will be equally excited by this democratisation of fashion because not only they can take part in choosing which designs win the competitions, but they can also enjoy an extraordinary shopping fest made up of the freshest fashion concepts from around the world.

Lime Interactive along with Atelier’s in-house online marketing team will be providing brand and website designs as well as handling all the marketing from on and offline media relations though to natural and paid search and social community marketing.  To find out more visit www.betafashion.com

Lime Interactive worked with Atelier to redesign the company’s corporate identity, write and plan the architecture for a new website and design, develop and launch the site. The SPS International’s new website is now in the hands of Atelier’s search engineers who will be working over the next few months to make sure that the site ranks well in the worldwide search engines.
View SPS International’s new website here

View the campaign here.

Cutting costs is laudable but you really do need to be in it to win it.
At Lime Interactive our overriding concern is client ROI so naturally we advocate meticulous and regular review of every activity.  But extraordinary problems call for focussed and innovative solutions so our advice to our advertisers for 2009 is clear:

•    Set short - and long-term profit objectives
•    Aim to take market share as your competitors falter
•    Make sure your brand-value proposition is crystal clear
•    Look for new ways to stretch your marketing budget
•    Think integrated

Your customers move seamlessly from channel to channel, does you marketing?
Whilst on and offline advertising is often separated both by agency resources and budgets, such lines of demarcation are not respected by consumers; from as early as 2003 most direct brands saw a steady decline in their offline advertising response, and yet sales held up.  Those marketers who were able to track activity swiftly concluded that response was being siphoned off into their websites (and those of their competitors) before re-entering the sales process by the customer’s preferred channel.  What was most noticeable however was that consumers who had carried out internet research were much closer to purchase when they approached the advertiser as compared to an off the page respondent.

In the 2008 the digital landscape has exploded so that the opportunity to interact with a brand now goes way beyond just visiting an advertiser’s website.   And in recession we are finding that digital pre-purchase research is much more extensive as consumers, reluctant to compromise their lifestyle, work to find the very best of bargains and reduce fuel and parking costs.  So advertisers who want to make the most of their sales opportunity really need to:

•    Police their brand messages tightly enough to stay focussed across the mix
•    Build in the flexibility required to make the most of the plethora of new media opportunities.

How to make the best of online in the worst of times.

It is clear that whatever brand you represent you need to make sure that you make the best of your online presence – particularly in 2009.  And the good news for stretched advertisers is that some of the most powerful online tools are almost free.  Here’s Lime Interactive’s top ten.

1. Blended search is our tip for the top
Almost 80% of users start their internet session at a search engine, with 90% of searches starting with a brand, which is why achieving top positions on the search results is so important.  And now, it’s not just about working your natural SEO to return your brand to the top listing because internet savvy users are easily distracted by competitors sponsoring your products, keywords, or since May 2008, even your brand.  So look to blend your search marketing, working natural search alongside pay-per-click - and for the more adventurous - bring in ppc affiliates to chase the long long tail so that you truly have the competition blocked out across the search.
2. Power up your brand with interactive display advertising
Search is king when a consumer is in the mood to buy, but how can you influence people to buy your product when they are not particularly looking? Online display advertising is the tool for the job.  It went out of favour but is now rapidly regaining ground as rich media provides opportunities for greater engagement and interactivity. And with contextual advertising, and some emerging opportunities for cost per action deals there are now more new ways to make the most of the medium.
3. Affiliates, the icing on the cake.
Affiliate Marketing is now a powerful tool in the armoury of the digital marketer.  Affiliates networks provide the marketing link between publishing sites and your site. And when your consumer buys something the affiliate network and the publisher makes a commission. The ROI model is of course perfect for you, since you only pay a commission on performance. And there are now lots of different types of affiliates from ppc, to cash-back, price comparison sites, social networks and even corporate networks – but be careful - make sure that your affiliate programme complements, rather than replaces, your sales strategy or your profits will suffer.
4. Get ahead, get optimising!
It is amazing what a difference a usability study can make to sales on an e-commerce site and these days the best advice is available at an affordable price. But optimising your consumer’s user journey on site is just the start.  Every aspect of what you do online should be regularly reviewed, from your search engine marketing to your online advertising, your affiliate programme to your online PR, all should be regularly reviewed and optimised because if every aspect of what you do is not polished to perfection you run the risk of throwing good money after bad and missing out on potential business
5. Guard your online reputation you depend on it.
Blogs and online article marketing are the stock in trade of the competent search engineer and online publicist. Both offer brands fantastic cost effective exposure on and offline. But what happens when things go wrong?  With citizen journalists’ now regularly quoted by mainstream media such as the BBC and Sky News brands can lose well-earned reputations literally overnight off the back of poor online publicity. What’s more, unlike traditional journalists an alienated blogger has instant access to the media is all powerful, and totally unconfined by the etiquette of traditional journalism.  So brands need to make sure that they plan their online crisis management as well as their offline, and that they cultivate close relationships with their important bloggers as keenly as they do their traditional media contacts.
6. Integrated is best.
There is undeniable evidence that marketing tools work best when the brand story is carefully orchestrated across the media mix, uplifting results significantly. Which helps explains why Hitwise reported clicks and mortar to be a winning combination, with the internet properties of the top 100 high street retailers in the UK, including Next, Marks & Spencer and Argos, taking 19.3% more UK internet visits during July 2008 compared to the biggest online-only retailers. Likewise, coupling display and search can provide a traffic uplift 7 times that if done on their own (Microsoft 2008).  So our advice is make sure your agency thinks very carefully about how your brand is represented across the media mix and how each of the different media interconnect so that you can optimise every aspect of your marketing.
7. Go mobile
Whilst mobile is still a relatively small medium there are lots of ways to extend the impact of your brand, especially if you are targeting a younger audience.  And as mobile grows so to will the opportunities it presents to marketing – so if mobile is appropriate to your audience, now is a good time to test it in advance of the medium moving into mainstream.
8. Email a good alternative to snail mail?
Like direct mail, email is a great way to keep in contact with existing customers, adding value to the relationship, generating further sales, and increasing LTV. Email can also be useful in an acquisition plan but it very much depends on the quality of the list available to you and getting the creative and timing right.  Co-branded emails can have a higher success rate, especially where the carrier brand has authority or is valuable to its readership.
9. Service your customers properly
Make it as easy as possible for your customers to speak to you directly and quickly either online, on the phone or by email.  If you get this right you will keep your customers longer, sell them more, and make them firm advocates of your brand.
10. Finally measure what can be measured and then use common sense.

• Consumers are turning to search engines and price comparison sites and online retail to find the cheapest prices.
• Britons are shunning ethical consumerism in favour of energy efficiency – choosing to search for energy efficiencies in favour of fair trade and organic.
• Property searches have fallen, but traffic to house and garden retailers and DIY ‘how to’ sites has reached a new high as people look to cocoon themselves in their existing homes;:

“This is the first real economic downturn to have occurred during the Internet age, and Hitwise data provides some fascinating insights into how people are reacting,” commented Robin Goad, Research Director for Hitwise in the UK. “As you would expect, people are using the Internet to find cheaper goods and services, but also to find information on everything from the reasons behind the credit crunch to money saving DIY tips.”

Digital Britain - The future of communications
JOINT DCMS/BERR PRESS RELEASE

An action plan to secure the UK’s place at the forefront of innovation, investment and quality in the digital and communications industries will be developed by Stephen Carter, the first Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting.

Already a major force in the economy, worth over £52 billion a year, the digital and communication sectors are growing in significance as the country faces up to current financial and market challenges. Vital to underpinning global economic activity, they are critical to every business in our economy, acting both as a catalyst for creativity and allowing efficiency gains. And they have a major impact on our culture and quality of life.

Drawing on expertise from across Government, regulators and industry, Lord Carter’s report will be a comprehensive analysis of our digital economy. Titled ‘Digital Britain’, the work has at its core an ambition to accelerate the rate of growth, and cement the UK’s position as a world leader in the knowledge and learning economy. To achieve this Stephen Carter will bring forward proposals for both Government and industry, to support the development of these critical sectors.

Stephen Carter said:

“Communications have been revolutionised in the last 20 years, with consumers and businesses alike embracing the opportunities and taking advantage of the reality of the new technologies.”

He added: “Digital Britain is about capturing the opportunities on offer for UK PLC and the public, and advancing our standing as a world leader in these industries.

“Our ambition is to see Digital Britain as the leading major economy for innovation, investment and quality in the digital and communications industries. We will seek to bring forward a unified framework to help maximise the UK’s competitive advantage and the benefits to society.”

Stephen Carter’s report will take forward and build on the wide-ranging work from Government, regulators and industry that already addresses issues around communications and convergence. It will bring together extensive expert analysis to develop a strategy for a fully digital Britain.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said:

“We need to move quickly if we are to maximise the benefits of convergence. Over the last year we’ve worked with experts to get a clear understanding of the issues to address and obstacles to overcome if our businesses and citizens are to take full advantage of technology. Now is the time to move from the think tank phase to the delivery phase and focus on the actions needed to bring benefits for both the economy and an enriched society. This is a change of gear by the Government, and the Digital Britain Report, led by Stephen, will be a key contribution to the digital future.”

Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson said: “The Government is determined that the UK will strengthen its place as a word leader in the communications and digital technology sectors. For the present financial and banking crisis, Britain must get through the worst and prepare for the upturn. The digital economy will be central to this. The digital Britain report will lead the way”

To ensure the UK maximises the benefits of convergence right across the economy and society, a strategy will be developed to secure four key conditions: open markets; empowered and informed consumers and citizens; universal access to public service content; and a responsive regulatory framework. Priorities in each of these areas will be:

Open markets providing investment, innovation and choice, at all levels of the value chain including infrastructure, service provision and creation of content.

- Broadband Development: examining options for maximising participation and levels of service across the UK.

- Digital Radio: identifying barriers to wider investment and development of digital radio platforms, and drawing lessons from the current digital switchover television programme.

- Investment in Content: exploring business models for content development in a digital age, and the impact of new media on the content market.

- Spectrum: identifying the barriers to the release of spectrum and a fully functioning market in the trading and use of spectrum.

Empowered and informed consumers and citizens fully equipped to take advantage of the opportunities convergence brings.

- Internet: looking at a range of issues affecting internet users, such as user security and safety and a workable approach to promoting content standards.

- Media Literacy and IT skills: identifying inhibitors to IT take-up and barriers to maximising the economic and social effects of digital technologies including empowering consumers.

Universal access to high quality, public service content through appropriate mechanisms for a converged digital age.

- Public Service Broadcasting/Content: evaluating the impact of digitalisation and the new technologies on public service broadcasting assets and public service licences, in the UK as a whole and in the nations and regions.

- Independent Production: examining how to ensure the health of a vibrant independent production sector, including examining the impact of the current quota system.

A responsive regulatory framework that maximises investment and innovation by providing certainty and equipping regulators with the right tools to achieve their objectives.

- Intellectual property: The UK Intellectual Property Office will take forward work to deliver a digital copyright framework which supports creativity, investment and job creation in these important sectors.

The extensive research already carried out by Government and industry regulator Ofcom will underpin this work. The Digital Britain report will draw on all the available evidence to develop a comprehensive action plan. It is clear that for many people convergence is already a reality and content is increasingly being accessed through different technologies.

The Digital Britain report will consider what future legislative and non-legislative measures are required to support the development of these critical sectors and will be published in spring 2009.

Notes to Editors

1. The information and communications technologies and broadcasting together account for 5.9% of GDP, with a turnover of over £52 billion a year. 500,000 people are employed in these sectors in the UK.

2. Convergence can be defined as the merging of the individual communications industries (IT, broadcasting, telecommunications etc) into a single converged market. The breaking down of the traditional barriers between technologies has the potential to alter dramatically the landscape of the relevant sectors and those who interrelate with them. In practice convergence covers a wide range of issues, as well as most of the regulatory and legislative regimes that are currently in place.

3. The Government has already undertaken much important work in this area, particularly:

* The recently published Caio review on next generation broadband access;

* The Digital Radio Working Group currently scheduled to deliver a report in December;

* The recent memorandum of understanding to address file sharing between Internet Service Providers and rights holders;

* The Byron Review on children and new technology leading to the UK Council for Child Internet Safety;

* The work of the Convergence Think Tank; and

* The Digital Inclusion Action Plan.

4. The new position of Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting was created by the Prime Minister in recognition of the important role these sectors play in our economy and our society. There is no change to the respective responsibilities of BERR and DCMS in this area. The Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting is a joint appointment to both BERR and DCMS and will report to both Secretaries of State.

The two new ‘green’ brands are expected to launch in the autumn.  Barbara Liddell, Lime Interactive’s Director commented ‘We are all very excited by this appointment.  It provides two perfect opportunities for us to demonstrate how Lime’s ‘nonline’ approach to marketing can achieve a creative, integrated, and economical approach to marketing in a digital age.