Credos is advertising's independently-governed think tank. It was launched by the Advertising Association in 2010 and is funded by the advertising industry but overseen by an advisory board which assures their quality, objectivity and transparency.
Visit the Credos website and blog at http://www.credos.org.uk/ and http://blog.credos.org.uk/.
The Challenge
On the Credos website, it is crucial that any information is easy to locate.
Visitors will often search the website solely for Credos research papers, so accessing
these easily is of particular importance. Promotion of these papers was also an
objective.
Showcasing their long-term projects was another challenge. With many
stakeholders visiting the website, Credos wanted to ensure they were fully
aware of current long-term projects and their objectives.
Together with creating an easy website and blog to navigate, Credos wanted
to take a more honest and open approach. They were keen to show the people who
are behind Credos, namely their board and team.
The Approach
Promoting
publications and projects were paramount to Credos, so Senior created two templates for these pages for Credos to edit via their River CMS platform. The templates are easy to edit and look far more interesting than most document listings, with screenshots of the front covers of papers adding visual impact. Credos can maintain these pages with no input needed from Senior thanks to the usability of River CMS. The projects and publications feature heavily on the homepage with some appearances throughout the inner pages of the website so the user can always access them easily.
The team and the board have pages dedicated to profiles allowing users to find out who makes up the Credos organisation. As well as this, Credos have used the media manager in River CMS to produce a videos page where debates about advertising are displayed.
The news module within River CMS allows Credos to post their latest stories (latest papers for instance) to keep visitors up to date. The website also imports posts from the Credos blog, also created by Senior, and displays “snippets” of these posts around the website. The blog lets Credos post more informal posts, stories and interviews to encourage debate.
The Results
A fresh and clean design has given the sites attractive yet professional look.
By including both a ‘Board’ and ‘Team’ page, with pictures and profile
information on each individual, Credos gives an honest and open feel and readers
can relate more closely with them.
The simple layout has enabled its visitors to access the information they
require quickly and efficiently. This is particularly important as the visitors
expect easy access to Credos’ research papers, which are additionally featured
throughout the website. As a result of items being easy to locate, this offers the user a seamless experience whilst on the site.
Within days of launching, Google had indexed all pages of the website and
the blog. As ever, the site has been heavily optimised in search engines. Credos
therefore rank well in search for relevant phrases.
All in all, Credos have a fantastic new website which they are very pleased
with!
Website built using Senior's River Content Management System.