Strategic Digital Advisors - LAYOUTWEB

N.12

Strategic Digital Advisors

Image&Action Magazine is a Layout Advertising Group property

Periodical about Communication and Web Marketing


LONDON - MILAN

Social Intelligence: the platform for discovering the influencers, getting to know them and interacting with them

Layoutweb Ltd: strategy, passion and expertise win over the City

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Are you getting lost in the internet? Trust us! The complexity of the digital world requires the consultancy of trusted internet experts. You can lean on Layoutweb and we will supervise your online activity and will suggest you the most effective strategy for your digital communication.

www.layoutweb.co.uk - [email protected] 72 Hammersmith Rd, Hammersmith, London, W14 8TH T: +44 (0) 207 559 9698

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CONTENTS 04 EDITORIAL • The digital farmer

05 SPECIAL • Layoutweb Ltd. making waves in the City

06 FOCUS ON • Social Intelligence: monitoring, analysing and engaging • Layoutweb, digital advisor to Arredo3 • Cesare Ragazzi Laboratories, digital watershed

12 WEB TOOL • Call tracking, no conversions are lost

13 GOOGLE UPDATE • With Penguin 3.0, goodbye to “fake” links • AdWords, when your competitor becomes the keyword

15 LAYPROJECTS • Tak.Ori has chosen Layoutweb • ILLA, digital tools for B2B services • Toy G, minimalism online • Kisené, rebranding and new site • Grand Hotel de la Ville, style and functionality

Image&Action Magazine is a Layout Advertising Group property Art Direction, editing and production: Layoutweb

22 COMPETITIONS SPECIAL • Sika-Technokolla, the success of Work&Win

23 BREAKING NEWS • Resstende, new developments in the pipeline • Nilma looking to break Russian and Chinese markets • System Retail, new site “made in Layoutweb”

04 EDITORIAL

The digital farmer A few years ago, while talking to me about my humble mountain origins, a psychotherapist friend that very kindly wanted to improve my self-esteem pointed out how the country dialect - and even more so the mountain dialect - has far fewer words than that of the city. A book had been written on this topic and my doctor friend lent it to me. I don’t know if I really needed that injection of self-esteem but I certainly found the book very useful. So why are there fewer words? Because in the culture of substance, words are precise and specific, there are no nuances. White is white and black is black. The concept of love also loses its surreal, ethereal, highly volatile quality to assume the connotations of security, constancy and commitment to life. Layoutweb is a “farmer”, it lives off this culture, it adores substance, it practically re-

jects the world that feeds it. Or, as the digital farmer would put it, “it only likes to talk about substance and definite things”. I wanted to relay this thought in this edition of Image&Action because I believe the time has come to separate substance from flimsiness, from the risible ease with which we can dress things up in Italian by using AngloSaxon terms. This is essential for us, as individual professionals, it is essential for agencies and, above all, it is essential for businesses and the managers that lead them. We are submerged and we submerge people’s minds with captivating concepts, impossible trajectories, ideas at the very limit of our imagination and, when we return to Earth, they ask us, they ask themselves, we ask ourselves how to sell a product and market a service, we look at each other in a confused way as if to say: “what’s that got to do with it, we are the web! Tell me about the User Experience instead!” Happy User Experience to everyone. Claudio Agazzi Digital farmer

by Claudio Agazzi

05 SPECIAL Present in London for over a year, the agency specialised in advisory services and business development already has high-profile clients and profitable contacts with various local digital agencies

Layoutweb Ltd.

making waves in the City It was the spring of 2013 when Layoutweb saw the light and set itself the task of becoming a nerve centre of activities aimed at the international market. Layoutweb Ltd. took shape in the prestigious location of Crown House, an elegant complex on Hammersmith Road, and in quick time created its own niche within the jungle of advisors and digital companies that populate the capital of the United Kingdom.

strategy service that helps them identify the others, enabling the strategic digital advibest solutions for their business. sors team to, on the one hand, fully satisfy the requests of the clients acquired As such, the Layoutweb Ltd. team, in con- in this first year and a half of activity and, stant synergy with the Italian office, imme- on the other, to continue to grow in the diately made its passion for its work and its international arena. innate taste for beauty and style available to its clients and in no time at all acquired a diverse London-based clientele: from established businesses and financial consultancy firms to event organisers and well-known Indeed, it is not the quantity of supply that is web influencers. lacking in a place like London but rather the presence of businesses that can offer expert In every project it has undertaken, support in the search, evaluation and selec- Layoutweb Ltd. has guided and suption of services. ported its clients, advising them and helping them to find the best partners In such a complex and varied environment, for their online activities: a task that has Layoutweb Ltd.’s goal was clear and tar- inevitably led the agency to establish a geted from the outset: support and help po- strong network of relations with various tential clients with a consultancy and digital London-based digital businesses among

Crown House (London)

06 FOCUS ON “Listening” to the social networks? Yes, and more besides! With a single tool and a single platform today it is possible to discover who the influencers of the Internet are, get to know them and interact with them to improve your online marketing strategies

Social Intelligence

monitoring, analysing and engaging Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the posts and their reach

They are called influencers for a reason: not only are these web users popular but, being highly active in one or more areas or on one or more issues, they become a source of detailed information, updates and opinions for rest of the web population and are able to attract and influence an increasing number of internauts, often developing genuine tribes of followers. Businesses are beginning to look on these users - many of whom are professional bloggers - with increasing interest, and not only in the fashion sector: many companies now view influencers as a business opportunity, particularly in the channels in which they do most of their work, i.e. the social networks. Monitoring the Internet and the social networks to see what people say about your brand and competitors is therefore just the first step that a company must take nowadays to optimise their digital strategy. In addition to this there is the opportunity of getting to know the users and, in particular, the influencers that gravitate around the product sector of interest, becoming familiar with their profile and therefore involving them to increase your online brand awareness. We are talking about a complex operation but one which is possible today thanks to a unique and intuitive tool developed on a sin-

gle platform called Social Intelligence, which goes beyond listening to and analysing the web with the aim of creating one-to-one communications with the user.

Buzz Monitoring and Social Analysis The work of the Social Intelligence platform begins with a preliminary buzz monitoring phase during which the tool monitors the brand and its competitors in order to “listen to” a particular scenario (product sector) limited to the area of interest. During this first step, “the places” in which people talk about a topic are identified - i.e. the channels, virtual spaces, forums, blogs or sites - as is the “sentiment” of users to-

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From the control panel it’s possible to analyse the fan base growth

wards a brand, i.e. whether they talk about it positively, negatively or in neutral terms on the web. In addition, it is also possible to quantify the comments, discover where they come from and monitor their trends over time, as well obtain a cross-section of the issues that regard the brand or product in question, with a comparison with competitors. After this phase comes the constant monitoring of the social networks - Facebook and Twitter especially - which makes it possible to compare the performance indicator data relating to your pages with those of direct competitors. On this single platform it is therefore possible to: - measure the success of your social media and compare it with the performances of competitors and best practices in the sector - understand trends among fans, interaction and PTA

List of the most engaging fans with the possibility to link to their profiles

- identify potential leads or profiles that post, comment or tweet with references, links and hashtags related to the topic of interest - receive notifications when important events take place in the social scenario being monitored, thus discovering if competitors are launching successful campaigns or initiatives - monitor how responses are delivered to fans, in what quantities and in what timeframes. Social Intelligence and Engagement The innovation in this tool lies in the fact that through the processing and exporting of all gathered data, on ready-to-use graphics, the platform carries out a semantic and simultaneous analysis of the social panorama, which makes it possible to identify, profile and involve the most active users and influencers in relation to specific words or topics, tracing interaction on your own media as well as that of your competitors. Discovering the issues that they are talking about, it is possible to classify these opinion leaders as brand trailblazers or detractors and keep tabs on their influence over the various topics.

In addition, the software enables you to gather all available data in the public pages and profiles of the users under consideration on the platform, particularly if they are bloggers or influencers with a major following: this enables the company to familiarise themselves with their habits and tastes and, above all, understand their feelings towards the brand. Interacting directly with fans therefore becomes simple and immediate, but the communication strategy requires more effort and resources because it must be more complex and diffuse, in line with this increased profiling process. On the other hand, knowing all about the users enables you to choose who to dedicate yourselves to, who to contact by writing on their pages and profiles or by sending them newsletters, DEM etc. The result is that you are able to deliver targeted communications to a well-defined audience, which are therefore more effective in terms of the investment-feedback relationship than the dissemination of a nontargeted message.

08 FOCUS ON The agency was chosen by leading Italian kitchen designers Arredo3 to provide support in the management of SEO, SEM and network monitoring activities

Layoutweb

digital advisor to Arredo3

A company with 30 years of experience in the business and standard-bearer for Italian-made products, Veneto brand Arredo3, one of Italy’s leading kitchen designers, wanted Layoutweb by its side to face the new challenges of the digital work in tranquillity, putting its faith in the experience of the team of consultants in order to plan new strategies for its online communications. Founded in 1984, Arredo3 has continued to grow ever since and celebrates its first 30 years with a solid turnover, a production area that is being expanded and a network of over 1500 resellers in all parts of Italy. Bolstered by these achievements, the company asked Layoutweb for strategic support in order to further strengthen its position also online and, in particular, to closely monitor the brand’s online presence, in addition to Search Engine Marketing activities and SEO consultancy. The kitchen company’s primary requirement was the monitoring of the brand’s

online presence, with an evaluation of its online reputation with the aim of getting the thoughts of consumers, understanding their needs and therefore involving an increasingly larger number of users. Layoutweb therefore launched a buzz monitoring activity, “listening” to the web and any eventual suggestions to increase the brand awareness of Arredo3. Layoutweb also launched a series of SEM activities to increase its brand awareness, ranging from support in the realisation of PPC campaigns on AdWords to an intense reporting and analysis activity. Finally, the agency will provide the company with its SEO consultancy, with all of

the best practice rules that can help in the positioning and indexing of the company website on search engines.

09 FOCUS ON The company decided to revolutionise its online image following the launch of the new CRLab range of trichology products with a dedicated e-commerce activity - totally revisited in terms of graphics and functionalities - and the forthcoming new corporate website

Cesare Ragazzi Laboratories digital watershed

A few years after its acquisition and regeneration by English company AdviHair Srl, the Cesare Ragazzi Laboratories brand asked Layoutweb to carry out a total restyling of its online image. Layoutweb did this by designing a new corporate website that was more accessible to users and through the launch of the CRLab e-commerce channel, completely designed and developed by Layoutweb following the launch of the company’s brand new trichology products. CRLab.it, the world of hair brought together in an e-shop Layoutweb, which has managed the brand’s digital communications for some time, designed and developed the new online crlab.it store in total synergy with the company in order to give the brand of trichology products, revisited in terms of their formulations and packaging, its own well-defined identity. The new site dedicated to haircare solutions was designed not only as an online store but as a genuine source of information, news and opinions on hair and skin beauty and treatments, designed to guarantee maximum accessibility at all times. Easy to browse and web responsive, it stands out for its minimalist and pastel-coloured graphics with a style that, while different to “classic” medical or pharmaceutical product websites, combines science and nature, the principles on which the brand’s trichology products are based.

The lines are visible on the homepage and from here you can also access individual product pages with details, information sheets and advice. Making purchases is quick and easy with the purchasing steps all organised on a single page and marked by progressive indicators so you always know which stage of the shopping process you are at. The new site also includes an entire section dedicated to Offers and Promotions and a Magazine where you can read the latest news and stories from the hair world. Users can also easily find all the advice and opinions they are looking for, both in the product sheets and in the Reviews section, which contains articles from bloggers that have tested the lines and which, in the future, will host new features, together with useful comments from doctors and trichologists on the quality of CRLab treatments. New corporate website, more “accessible” to users Grabbing the attention of users, taking them by the hand and guiding them in the choice of the most suitable solution to their problem: this is aim of the new Cesare Ragazzi Laboratories corporate website whose graphical structure is being revolutionised by Layoutweb in order

The new CRLab store home page to overhaul the company’s online image. The new site will be developed around the user to provide them with advice as they search for the best solution and to represent a first port of call for those whose hair problem has them feeling “lost”. A professional and scientific approach will always underpin all content, which will continue to be corroborated by scientific texts and medical testimonies.

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The interview

D’Andrea “Layoutweb has thorough knowledge of the company and develops tailored projects for us” Angelo D’Andrea, Chief Operating Officer of Cesare Ragazzi Laboratories, illustrates the idea from which the new project was developed and talks about the professional synergy between the company and Layoutweb. Why the need to create a new brand entirely dedicated to products? “CRLab was developed to give one of our most important business lines, that of trichology products, its own separate platform. For too long it had perhaps unfairly remained in the shadows of the CNC Hair Thickening system. This is partly due to the reputation that the System has built up in recent years thanks to its uniqueness, but it is also partly because it is certainly easier to communicate, remember, identify. Today, thanks to the quality levels our trichological products have reached and our even greater certainty that we are delivering quality and efficacy that stands apart in the panorama of products that advertising has familiarised us with, we believed it was time to give them their own platform. The restyling of the packaging and the new formulations were the turning point: these were followed by the launch of the brand, the construction of a new brand identity and the creation of a site that reflects its soul.” An internal page of the website with product details

What led you to create a new ecommerce channel that was separate from the corporate website? “In an attempt to give CRLab an identity, a life, its own market, we thought it would be opportune if its site was also separate from the corporate website. We didn’t want to be influenced and

conditioned by the Cesare Ragazzi Laboratories brand and its concept. We also had to create a streamlined, simple, user-friendly e-commerce structure: showcase the products, gain the trust of users and finalise the purchases, all in a single place.” What role did your now established relationship with Layoutweb play in this project? “When you have an ambitious new project that is fundamental for your business plan, it is important to be able to put your faith in a structure that follows you step by step. Layoutweb didn’t just develop the e-commerce channel. It did it by first of all giving CRLab a digital identity it didn’t have before and they deserve recognition for this. Everything was done by paying close attention to the user experience: the goal of an ecommerce site is to sell and it achieves its goal if it is easy to browse, if it doesn’t waste your time with pointless steps, if it doesn’t make you feel lost in the various purchasing stages. And this goal was also met. This harmony certainly stems from the fact that we have been working together for years. But also from the fact that when it develops a project, Layoutweb always questions everything so that, in the end, the product really is tailored to meet our goals.”

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LONDON 72 Hammersmith Rd, Hammersmith, W14 8TH www.layoutweb.co.uk - [email protected]

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12 WEB TOOL The call tracking service on websites is able to trace and diversify the sources of every single telephone conversion in order to permit a better evaluation of return on investment

Call tracking

no conversions are lost

All companies publish a telephone number on their websites that users can phone to get information or speak directly with the business: in fact, although there are many ways of getting to know all about services and products, telephone contact remains one of the most popular means of finding out about the things we want to buy. It is therefore also important that telephone conversions are traceable, and this is even more essential if there are active adv campaigns on the website or web page in question, for which it is absolutely crucial to quantify the return on investment in order to more effectively assess the online performance of your business and choose where to invest time and money to attract and gain the loyalty of the user.

The call tracking service helps us to quickly and practically identify the origin of each single telephone conversion, giving us the opportunity to understand the source, whether it is organic traffic, PPC or display campaigns, paper adv, referrals or anything else.

The data are then channelled into a panel which separates them according to their various sources and which can be connected to the Google AdWords platform to monitor the conversions deriving from active campaigns. Finally, depending on the provider that provides the call tracking service, the paThis happens automatically thanks to rameters of the platform can also be set software that generates an “unmarked” to listen to and classify received calls. telephone number that is viewed online by the user and directly connected to the actual number to which the user is connected. Each of these automatically generated numbers is recognised by the software as corresponding to a specific source, ranging from paper or online adv campaigns to organic traffic.

13 GOOGLE UPDATE The new Google update penalises the creation of “fake” backlinks: creating links to unique and high-quality pages that encourage users to spontaneously share is the best strategy for remaining stable in search results

Penguin 3.0

goodbye to “fake” links

It is no longer a secret among those in the business: Google positions the websites in its search results using a specific “algorithm”, i.e. an automatic piece of software that is based on the evaluation of over 200 indicators to classify each page as being more or less relevant to the user’s search. The length of visits to a site, its bounce rate, its popularity on social networks and its “contextualised” content are just some of the parameters Google takes into consideration when positioning, always with the aim of prioritising only quality sites, to the detriment of those it regards to be of “poor quality”. To do this, the Mountain View-based giant continuously updates its algorithm: the most recent version, Penguin 3.0, was released on 17 October. Penguin 3.0 focuses its aim, in particular, on “backlinks”, i.e. links that direct users to the same site from various sources on the web (online newspapers, directories, but also posts and comments). With the latest version of Penguin, the fact that backlinks are of high-quality and relevance is no longer enough: Google has further refined its algorithm and now “strikes” sites with “manipulated” links or

links created ad hoc to improve their positioning on the search engine, such as those that contain an excessive number of articles from article marketing sites, links from “guest posts” on blogs, from directories of poor quality, as well as too many links with anchor text containing keywords. A penalisation that is not only clear from Google’s guidelines: in fact, you look at the first entries in the forums of the webmasters, in Italy alone many websites have dropped by up to 40 positions despite the use of keywords that previously guaranteed them the top positions. The solution for making your SEO strategy a success also in the eyes of Google?

Create all-round digital campaigns: from quality unique content that sparks the interest of users and encourages them to share it to natural link-building through the websites of partners, clients and sector events.

14 GOOGLE UPDATE Is it possible to use a competitor trademark as a keyword in your PPC campaigns? Google permits it but the Italian Law does not. This is what happens when the two collide...

AdWords

when your competitor becomes the keyword

Sometimes an AdWords ad can appear just by typing the name of a brand: it is quite normal if the advert that appears was published by the brand that you are searching for but what happens if the banner belongs to a rival brand? Is this fair and legitimate? According to the Google AdWords trademark policy, “Google will not investigate or restrict the use of trademark terms in keywords, even if a trademark complaint is received. […] Google will investigate and may restrict the use of a trademark within ad text. Ads using restricted trademarks in their ad text may not be allowed to run. This policy applies worldwide”. In other words: I can publish my AdWords ad using the name of another, also rival brand as a keyword, but I can’t use it in the text of my ad if it is explicitly protected on the AdWords circuit (protection that can be obtained by sending a special form to Google via your AdWords account). But while “Google law” is one thing, the Italian Law is another and protects companies and their trademarks from improper and unfair use by competitors. Especially if this creates confusion among consumers. A kind of conflict therefore undoubtedly arises because you can do things on the Web that are not actually permitted by Italian legislation. But in this regard Google holds its hands up and says, regarding the importance of trademarks, ”advertisers are responsible for the keywords that they choose to trigger ads and the text that they choose to

use in those ads. Google takes allegations of trademark infringement very seriously and, as a courtesy, we investigate matters raised by trademark owners. However, because Google is not a thirdparty arbiter, we encourage trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the advertisers”. Translated: if you want to fully protect your trademark you can try and take your case to court, but Google can’t do anything to help. Your counterpart may argue that Google allows it or deny that they used the trademark as a keyword. But be careful! Google has a large memory called the Archive. Every AdWords account stores the details of all campaigns carried out over time, from the beginning to the present: even if terminated, cancelled or merely suspended,

the campaigns and all their data can be consulted, complete with groups of planned adverts, published adverts and keywords used. There is a chronology of all modifications which tells you who did what and when. Everything can be changed but nothing is destroyed. In other words: it can always be shown what has appeared online even if it doesn’t exist anymore.

15 LAYPROJECTS The agency has carried out a complete restyling of the Italian luxury knitwear company’s website and launched an intuitive e-commerce platform enriched with the innovative DARIO tool so people can “create” and purchase their own tailor-made sweater online

Tak.Ori

has chosen Layoutweb The website’s home page

A new website perfectly tailored to its graphical requirements, an e-commerce platform and an innovative tool: this is what fashion brand Tak.Ori wanted to completely restyle its online image. And its wishes were granted by Layoutweb, which developed an accessible, intuitive and interactive project on the basis of the concept championed by the company.

For the young and exclusive high-quality Italian-made knitwear brand conceived by Svetlana Taccori, Layoutweb carried out the total restyling of the website and launched an e-commerce platform that not only allows users to purchase all of the garments in the current collection but also enables them to “create” their own DARIO patchwork sweater in a quick and fun way directly in the e-shop.

New website and e-commerce platform tailored to customers The new Tak.Ori website was arranged and developed by Layoutweb on the basis of the individual graphical requests of the client, something that wouldn’t have been possible with the use of open source CMS.

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The Layoutweb software engineers also developed a content management panel that enables the client to freely manage the insertion and editing of texts, images and product databases. The dynamism of the site is also seen in the Tak.Ori online store: each garment can be purchased without the need to register and users are guided through the purchase process step by step. Layoutweb created the platform from scratch also in this case, basing it on the graphical requirements of the client but, at the same time, enriching it with corrective actions and suggestions to simplify the steps and make the tool as effective and accessible as possible.

The company Tak.Ori is a brand of high-quality Italian-made knitwear that produces, mostly by hand, hats, sweaters, clothes and accessories in wool, cashmere and fine materials. Conceived by founder and creative director Svetlana Taccori, who has a great passion for hats and scarves, today Tak.Ori is well-known across the world, its garments worn by the most influential fashion icons, featured by the most authoritative fashion magazines and sold in the most exclusive boutiques in over 20 countries worldwide. An internal page of the website

The “DARIO Sweater” tool From the e-commerce section you can access the most original and innovative section of the Tak.Ori site, which enables users to “create” their own woolly sweaters, mixing and matching textures and patterns in a fun way to produce their own totally customised garment. In just a few simple steps, the “DARIO Sweater” tool enables users to see the DARIO sweater they have created, change its design again, play around with the colours and, finally, add it to their shopping trolley before making their purchase and continuing to shop. In this way the purchase is not only practical and simple but also fun and creative, in true Tak.Ori style.

DARIO tool

17 LAYPROJECTS Layoutweb Ltd. continues with its work for the ILLA Group, which has chosen to focus on online communications to attract buyers and major retail chains, also from overseas: following the website, two web apps are in the pipeline to support sales agents and buyers

ILLA

digital tools for B2B services The website’s home page

Dedicated mobile version For over a year now the Layoutweb Ltd. team has managed the digital communications of the ILLA Group - an Italian company that has been manufacturing non-stick aluminium cookware for over 60 years - focusing mainly on a B2B target, also international. Initially, the agency’s work involved the design and online launch of the new ILLA website in 4 languages, with a dedicated mobile version. The site was conceived as a platform for all of the information on the products and the company, technical details on individual products and coating

materials, and plenty of space dedicated to technology, production and environmental ethics. Together with the site, Layoutweb Ltd. managed the communication strategy targeted at the company’s reference markets as well as the end consumer with the aim of increasing its brand awareness: to this end, the communication plan was developed through SEO, PPC, SEM and digital PR activities to attract greater numbers of users to both the ILLA corporate and e-commerce site (developed and managed by World Way Web).

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Two webapp pages

The new web app, much more than a digital catalogue Following this first phase of activity, the intense work of Layoutweb Ltd. for ILLA led the agency to design an important tool for key account managers and buyers: a company presentation web app that, among other things, contains the entire ILLA catalogue on a single, practical tool in digital format. Innovative, functional, accessible and updatable at all times, this web app is not just a practical replacement for the paper catalogue: inside it presents all ILLA products, divided into the various ranges and lines, and supplemented with technical sheets, so that buyers can be shown the entire ILLA product offer in just a few

steps with the advantage of always having a packed and up-to-date brochure on a tablet. But the new web app is much more besides: it encapsulates, in a single tool, the entire world of the company with useful information on the materials, coatings, the technologies used and production, and demonstration videos that clearly illustrate the steps that lead to the creation of each ILLA product. The “configurator” creates and customises tailor-made pans Meanwhile, in the Layoutweb Ltd. software department, another B2B tool is already being developed, a second web app that ILLA key account managers will be able to use to enable buyers to “con-

figure” their own products. By combining forms, types, bases, thicknesses, dimensions and coatings, buyers will be able to request the ad hoc production of private label or ILLA-branded lines of products.

19 LAYPROJECTS Layoutweb has graphically updated the website of the PINKO group brand and manages its Facebook page and the dissemination of geolocalised newsletters

Toy G

minimalism online

Toy G, a Cris Confezioni SpA group brand to which the PINKO brand also belongs, asked Layoutweb to refresh its website to make browsing even easier and more straightforward and to further improve the user experience. Although its collections are targeted at young women, Toy G proposes refined and elegant lines and with this new digital “refreshment” it sought to reassert its reputation as a casual fashion brand also online. The style chosen by Layoutweb is even more minimalist and characterised by clean, well-defined graphics and an irreplaceable web responsive layout.

Of course, plenty of space is reserved for the images that illustrate the garments in the new collection and accompany the touch-oriented design with targeted access points: just one simple click opens the doors to the collections, the store locator and the sections dedicated to newsletters and contacts. Users are accompanied on their content discovery experience in a clear and intuitive way, also thanks to the adaptability of the layout which ensures that every page of the site can be viewed on both tablets and smartphones.

As well as carrying out the graphic restyling of the website, Layoutweb has also taken over the management of the Toy G Facebook page and issues geolocalised newsletters with the aim of increasing the brand’s interaction with its followers and, at the same time, reaching out to a specific user target audience with direct and targeted communications.

20 LAYPROJECTS As part of the project to reposition the franchise brand on the market, Layoutweb managed the development of the website, in line with the new retail concept conceived by Dolci Advertising

Kisené

rebranding and new site Clean, defined, minimalist: the new website belonging to Italian retail chain Kisené, which produces linen products for the home, furnishing accessories and underwear, and which boasts over thirty stores across Italy, is now online. The new site was created by Layoutweb in line with the rebranding, communication and retail concept project entrusted to communications agency Dolci Advertising. A brand repositioning strategy that has also overhauled the image and appearance of individual stores, which have been transformed into more welcoming and creative places with delicate colours and natural tones, the use of wooden furnishings, and the arrangement of Kisené products in such a way as to engage the customer and make them feel at home. Layoutweb used the same concept in the development of kisene.com, a website designed as an elegant showcase that presents the company and the goals of their commercial franchise project, provides a preview of the product lines and invites users to discover the broad collection directly in stores. In fact, besides enhancing the graphics and appearance of the website, inspired by those of the stores, Layoutweb’s work focused in particular on the creation of a store locator that, as well as making it extremely easy and quick to find the nearest store, also allows you to perfectly localise its position and address on the map. Based on Google Maps and the use of Google’s software libraries, the Kisené store locator enables managers to position their store signposts in the exact places in which they wish to localise the stores on the map: recognition from Google Maps takes place through geo-

The new website’s home page

The store locator graphical coordinates thus enabling the software to return, regardless of the address, the exact and real position of the store. Users are therefore able to localise the store they are looking for and work out how to get there by zooming into the desired level of detail on the map.

21 LAYPROJECTS The new website that Layoutweb developed for the 5-star hotel is now online: user experience and accessibility are the strengths of the new project in 6 languages that also includes an online booking system entirely designed by the agency

Grand Hotel de la Ville style and functionality Elegant, functional and intuitive: the new Grand Hotel de la Ville website, developed by Layoutweb in response to a request for a total restyling that makes the famous 5-star hotel in Parma more elegant in terms of its graphics, but also easier to browse and access for both end users and the hotel’s staff, is now online.

The online booking control panel

The new website’s home page For the site’s graphics - also produced in English, French, German, Spanish and Russian versions - Layoutweb decided to entrust the shooting of the locations to a professional: interior photographer Fabrizio Cicconi. And beginning with the choice of images, the agency dedicated particular care to every detail of the entire project with the aim of improving its functionality and therefore the user experience. From this painstaking work a site was created in which, by browsing the various sections, users can get to know every detail of the hotel, discovering its services, interesting facts, news and promotions. Above all, they can also choose their ac-

commodation formula and book directly online from every page. With the online booking system designed entirely by the Layoutweb software engineers, users can reserve their room simply by typing in their arrival and departure dates: a system which enables the Grand Hotel de la Ville management to reserve the number and the type of rooms required, also on a daily basis, in a direct and simple way, as well as to decide the rate according to the season. Finally, Layoutweb also supplied the client with the LayGuest platform, a useful personalised solution which, by measuring and analysing the quality of the service through the processing of the data

provided by guests and their comments, enables the hotel to assess its communication strategy and further improve its service. The Grand Hotel de la Ville website is online in 6 languages, providing a complete service and clear information to an increasingly large number of international users.

22 COMPETITIONS SPECIAL Layoutweb reviews the competition organised for Sika Italia, which involved almost 1500 participants in a year and concluded with the award ceremony for the two lucky winners and the total satisfaction of the company

Sika-Technokolla the success of Work&Win

In palio due DOBLÒ If the organisation of the Work&Win competition was supposed to be a way for Sika Italia to raise its profile, attract new clients and increase sales, then a few months from the end of the initiative the outcome can only be described as positive: the initiative conceived, planned and managed in full by Layoutweb, which lasted over a year, produced truly excellent results in terms of the involvement of users and the satisfaction of the company. The Work&Win project began with the development and online launch of the dedicated website www.win-sika.it, the heart of the initiative, where participants - designers, professionals and members of the construction sector - could register and try their luck right away, view their personal area at any time with the summary of their points total, and participate in the final draw to win a Fiat Doblò van. With almost 1500 participants, the initiative saw many people win themselves valuable prizes in each monthly draw and

ended with the presentation of a set of keys to the two luckiest players - a construction company and a reseller of Sika and Technokolla products - who won the grand prize of the two vans. To make the competition simple and engaging, the work that Layoutweb carried out for “Work&Win” was very complex and finely detailed. Involving participants all year and getting them to visit the dedicated site every month enabled the company to increase its brand awareness, to create a constant direct dialogue with users and, at the same time, to provide resellers with a tool to help sell Sika and Technokolla products.

Technokolla, graphical restyling of the website Layoutweb recently developed the new website of the Technokolla brand, which was completely restyled in terms of graphics to bring it into line with Sika’s corporate identity. The Technokolla world of glues, adhesives, putties, waterproofing products and substrates is now brought together in a responsive website where the focus is on the optimum user experience. The products come with sheets packed with data, information and illustrative films, and are even easier to find now thanks to the site’s internal search engine which is clearly highlighted on every page and which makes it possible to search by name and by field of use, as well as making it easier to view the products. Finally, Layoutweb drafted an SEO plan with the aim of further improving the positioning of the site on search engines.

The new website’s home page

23 BREAKING NEWS

Resstende

new developments in the pipeline New Layoutweb-produced developments are expected at Resstende next year, beginning with the creation of a new e-commerce platform. Strongly desired by the Lombard curtain and technical blind manufacturer to satisfy its many online requests, the new e-shop will also include a practical tool for users to configure their own made-to-measure blinds and order them directly online. Also due to undergo a restyling is the company homepage, where Resstende products and systems will take pride of place, with the aim of further improving their visibility and making the site more engaging and direct in terms of B2C.

Nilma

looking to break Russian and Chinese markets Nilma, producers of machines and systems for collective catering and the food industry, have recently expanded their website with the addition of two new versions in Chinese and Russian, designed ad hoc for the respective reference markets. Positioned on geolocalised servers to make it easier to find the site on local search engines, the two new versions come complete with company profile, certification information and a practical downloadable folder with a wide range of products supplemented with images and the main technical characteristics. Finally, users can contact Nilma using the contact form, which enables them to quickly get the info they need and the company to keep track of messages, creating a useful database.

System Retail

new site “made in Layoutweb” System Retail SpA, specialists in IT solutions for the retail market, chose Layoutweb to create their new company website. Following the work Layoutweb carried out for Custom SpA - a partner of System Retail - for whom the agency developed the corporate website in 9 languages, the Ancona-based company also decided to entrust its digital communications to Layoutweb. The new website will be graphically coordinated with the Custom website whilst maintaining the unique features of the System Retail world, and will inherit its browsing configuration, functionalities and content and product database management software.


LONDON - MILAN