Case Study
SMG Plc launched “Connect” - a new group-wide, web-based Intranet Application.
The brief for “The Intranet” was to improve internal communication, resource-sharing and job satisfaction by providing a colourful, user-friendly and up-to-the minute resource which would offer staff a one-stop location for all their daily information needs. In addition, SMG requested that “The Intranet” helped reinforce the idea that subsidiary companies, departments and media channels were, despite a degree of physical separation, “connected” by the parent group and a common ethos.
2FluidCreative provided Branding, Consultancy, Design and Development services in the creation of 'Connect'.
Firstly, a brand identity which merged existing SMG corporate imagery and company colours with new Connector; logos was developed. The Connectors represented each of the group’s 5 distinct media channels (Radio, Television, Outdoor, Cinema and Group) whilst emphasising the link between each.
Detailed consultation and discussion then followed in order to clarify the requirements of the new Intranet, with particular reference to addressing the shortcomings of the existing Intranet, getting buy-in from staff, and ensuring a smooth transition from old to new applications. To this end, the Project Plan incorporated a series of meetings with different Channel representatives/ content editors, plus focus groups and questionnaires with staff, training sessions and a pre-launch Pilot.
The design for Connect reflected the requirement for information to be split into 5 channel views; a feat achieved by using common colours and typography combined with unique brand colours for heading/header elements per channel, creating the feel of tailored information. As an information resource, the Intranet also required a design which facilitated large amounts of information being contained on a page in a readable format. This was made possible through the use of multiple ‘teaser’ boxes, providing a ‘dashboard’ view where at-a-glance information linked to full articles on separate pages. Each of these design elements were brought to life through modern Web Development technologies which separated content from presentation, allowing the look and feel to be updated quickly whilst also providing considerable accessibility benefits and reduced server overheads.
We wanted to bring our key internal communications tool bang up to date with a new design and increased functionality. 2FluidCreative were an essential part of our team in the creation of Connect which has so far, achieved everything we want it to and more! The process ensured buy-in from the staff from the start by speaking to staff and getting their feedback and ideas on the concept of Connect. Being a Group of companies it is essential for us to give each business a voice and the channel method that Connect adopts is perfect to address these needs. We are delighted with the end result but we are all still working hard to keep it fresh and relevant in our ever changing industry.— SMG
From a technical perspective, Connect enjoyed the benefits of a new version of Pagepilot which incorporated Page Creation Tools, Content Management, CSV Creation and Reporting, User Administration, RSS Feed Administration, an Image Library and more. This has made it possible to create and sustain a rich, modern web application with a logical structure which has allowed organic growth since launch.
A year on, Connect has achieved mass-adoption, improved internal communication and has continued to gather pace as more pages are added and new ideas stimulated. SMG and 2FluidCreative are currently finding new ways to extend the functionality as Connect becomes more and more integral to the daily operation of SMG's working day.
