Final Post 19.01.10

The digital marketing plan for Wired is now complete, the website is finished along with the strategy for the next 5 years.
Personally I believe the strengths of the project are the finished website which I think is incredibly appealing to the majority of students. It has been time consuming, however the outcome is worth it and I have learnt a lot of skills from doing it. I now feel comfortable using Photoshop and Dreamweaver and would happily do it again.
I also think the blog has worked well, I kept a journal using Microsoft word so I could organize the materials before I entered them on the blog and then bit by bit I slowly put them on. However since I did it in large chunks I were unable to put certain sections with earlier ones I had originally posted and therefore the organisation isn't as good as I'd hoped, but hopefully it is still understandable and enjoyable to read.

University collaberation 13.01.10

Wired will become university based and collaberate with the educational authorities to promote them. As well as us investing in them, they will gain our support in return, with constant promotion and sponsorship of universities that participate both sides of the team win.
An example of how it can be done:


My northumbria where all information needed is accesible including student events and sales

SU letters are also excellently marketed with bright colour, young people and keywords that appeal to all, most students tend to look through what is been promoted on them. Especially Freshers who are getting their head around a new start...which could include a new Smartphone?!?

Google search, how to get to the top 9.01.11

http://searchenginewatch.com/2198931

1. Choose keywords wisely for each page on the website, never use general words like 'phones' or 'student'. Use a phrase instead that still relates to the context of the site. They need good voulme and low competition.
When searching student mobile phones, only 3 websites came up that would appeal to me as a student, I looked over each one. They were complicated and had little modernity to offer.
Taking this into account the 3 top phrases will be 'student contracts and phones' 'student mobile phone retailer' and 'phone deals for students'.

2. Write atleast 200 words that incude the keywords numerous times. A short example:
'Student mobile phone retailer, with phone deals for students selling student contracts and phones.

‘Almost all contract phones will be smartphones by the end of 2011’ 7.01.10

According to Tim Whiting, CEO of Phones4u 'almost all contract phones will be smartphones by the end of 2011'.

"The social media boom will persist in having a significant impact on consumer purchasing decisions. Social media capabilities on mobile devices will drive peer recommendation and consumer choice, and this will fundamentally change the way we as an industry need to engage with our customers in 2011".

In summary, after reviewing this research Wired will become focussed mainly on Smartphones, with only a small proportion of mobile phones been what consumers were used to in past years. Wired will supply around 70% Smartphones and only 30% will be typical mobiles to keep up to predicitons and current trends especially amongst young adults.


http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/Feature/10466/2011_predictions_Tim_Whiting.aspx

Research on Smartphones 7.01.11

According to Jon French HTC Executive Producer, Smartphones are now becoming the norm. Typical mobile technology is slowly decreasing and now when consumers want an upgrade or new mobile phone they are paying the extra £5 a month and opting for a Smartphone. Perhaps to keep in with this trend Wired should focus mainly on Smartphones as this seems to be the way the market is going according to numerous analysists such as GSMA Mobile Business Breifing who have found that:

"The global smartphone market grew 78 percent in the third quarter of 2010, reaching 77 million units".


http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/Feature/10458/smartphones_standard.aspx

Website complete

The preview of the website is now complete. The four pages available to view should give people an idea as to what we are aiming for as a student mobile phone retailer. Now its time to move onto more research into what people want in order to complete the marketing stratergy for Wired.

Dreamweaver 15.01.11

Now the four pages are made, all the information needs transferring onto Dreamweaver. Because I have used Dreamweaver before using code, I decided it would be a lot easier for me to expand my skills further this way and get more practice doing it using code. I made it so that whenever the logo is clicked on the consumer will return to the home page automatically. The further 3 pages are the about us page, phones page and Acatel OT 980 page.

Acatel OT 980 10.01.11

The original picture for the '5 stars rating'

'Stars' edited

Finally as shown on the preview of the site, when clicking on the first phone ‘Acatel OT 980’ the description of the phone, ratings and further links will appear. As visible at the bottom of the main box containing the information and further images there are 3 tabs to click on which will go to different pages containing prices and the ability to purchase the phone. Also further down are the boxes and images showing the customer what features the phone has. If the customer was to click on one of these, other phones with that feature on will appear in the same format as the main phone page. Instead of using stars as a review I decided to use the characters again to add a little more personality to the page. Again I found another version of the character used throughout and using the magic wand deleted everything but the man and his love heart that is red. Using free transform I resized the characters and made the final man’s heart half empty to show 4.5/5 positive reviews. There is also the option to read the reviews and write your own. This creates good trustworthy publicity for the phone and our company.

The ability to share the phone on Facebook and twitter is also available once again to gain publicity as the link would come straight to the company’s website which is hopefully enjoyable enough for students to look through as we hope. The range of networks the phone is available in is also visible on first sight of the phones key information. Other images of the phone are also there to view.

Phones page 5.01.11

The phone page then requires an extra folder on Photoshop. The aim of this page is that if the customer clicks directly on the tab then the page shown will appear which shows all phones the company does with numerous pages to click on at the bottom centre of the page. If the customer hovers over the tab then a drop down menu will appear which will show brands of phones making it a simpler process for a customer knowing what they want. To make this page 2 rectangular white opaque boxes are used, then individually a selection of phones from Carphone Warehouse’s website (which is a similar company to our own hence the reason for choosing it) are copied and pasted onto the page, using the magic wand again everything but the phone itself is deleted. Using free transform to resize them they are lined up in the rectangle box. Finally simple Calibri text is used to name each phone. Using boxes, texts and arrows page numbers are put at the bottom of the page so the consumer can browse continuously. The page layout will stay the same but the phones will change.

About us page 2.01.11

Making a new folder to create the 'about us' page, which is by far the simplest of pages the website will contain apart from the sign in page which will also be simple and straight forward the next page is on its way to being created.

A simple embossed orange opaque box is put on the page along with white text in Hobo font telling the customer all the background information about the company. The contact us link at the bottom of all the pages is available for the customer to email or call for any additional information on the background and business of the company, but to keep it simple limited, basic information is accessible on the site.

Adverts 28.12.10

Next the adverts are created using simple bold coloured boxes and text for easy observation from the consumer, nothing too flashy or tacky which looks forceful and deceiving, just simple still text keeping in theme with similar colours to the site.

Tabs and other links 28.12.10

After the search box, social network tabs, apps, basket and links at the bottom of the page are done using more of the magic wand, free transform and text tool the main tabs are created using a white rectangle box and opacity to create the base, and then numerous orange rectangle boxes, embossed to create the tabs the only thing left to do is to add the text for the website which is possibly the most important factor when thinking about simplicity for the customers. Each tab needs to be straightforward with no hidden agenda or questioning available to the customer. As I have seen on many websites of major phone companies, there is too much to click on and too many ways of getting to the same page. Simplicity is key to our company and we want it to be as easy as possible for the consumer to deal with.

The logo and the app button 28.12.10



The original image for the logo and app





The logo for the company



Next the logo for the company… It needs to be bold, simple and eye catching, hence Impact being the font, strong and straightforward appealing to both sexes. So that students understand we are a mobile phone retailer without having to read too much into it, ‘Independent mobile phone retailer has been added under the title of the company, in smaller italics as to not take over the main emphasis of the company name. Next another character from Pincel3d is selected and using the magic wand, the background is deleted along with the love heart on its chest and the shadow at its feet. Resizing it to fit alongside the title and description, the logo is formed.

An app logo is also created using the same character resized to a small image with a grey box behind it and an orange ‘W’ which stands for Wired on its stomach.

The theme of the website 23.12.10

The original image for my background from Pincel3d.deviant art

Knowing that students like basic, easy to use, fun and simple websites I’ve decided to use a cartoon image for the background that isn’t too distracting but that had its appeal to younger people. Having used Pincel3d.deviant art work before I know that as a student it appeals to me and the majority of people I know as students, therefore I think it is the perfect theme to go with and since there are so many images with similar themes I know that I can use the characters designed by Pincel3d throughout.

The background picture I have used for all the pages on the website has writing on it saying ‘For You’, this doesn’t go with the theme of the website and therefore needs erasing, using the eyedropper tool for the sky and the airbrush tool I have erased the writing. To make it link in with mobile phones I have also put iPhones into the characters hands and the company slogan ‘get connected get wired’ on the brow of the hill. I think the image is perfect. Wired is appealing to students in many ways, as most young people know ‘Wired’ is student lingo for being intoxicated and having fun making people want to know more about the company which is why we chose it, it also means being connected, hence the link to mobile phones. The image in the background almost seems hallucinogenic and unreal, a boy passing a girl the moon sums up the feeling of being under the influence and being connected to a stranger or friend and the fact they both have mobile phones just sums it up even more. The colour theme came from the image, orange black and white being the main colours used.

Starting with Photoshop 29.11.10

Using Photoshop to design the website the first lecture we have consists of us learning the basics of it using the itunes website and other imagery, giving us time to get familiar with it all which is similar to the following lectures and seminars we have.

Planning the website

The website needs to be bold, simple, appealing to young people and colourful; it needs to be fun to look at with nothing too flashy or 'cheap' looking that will put the consumer off. Students like style and are willing to spend money where this applies. If something looks cool, trendy and 'in', students tend to be attracted to this. The website also needs distinguishing imagery and colour, the logo and branding is often the most important factor for a company. If the aim is to become one of Britain’s biggest phone retailers, recognisability and modernity are two highly important things to think about.