Some of our clients have been with us since we started ten years ago. Other work has been short-term projects. Here's a quick list of just a few clients:
We run the official internet gateway to South Africa (www.southafrica.info) on behalf of the Brand South Africa, a project of the President's Office. We run the official websites of several municipalities, including Johannesburg, Buffalo City (East London), Bitou (Knysna and George) and Mogale (West Rand). We have developed web strategies and online content for SA Revenue Services, the Constitutional Court, South African Institute of International Affairs, Telkom Yellow Pages and Airports Company SA. We have written stories online and in print for the Cape Town Metro, Ekurhuleni Metro and Transnet. We have helped launch new publications or have redesigned existing ones, for Media24, ThisDay, Johnnic, Mail & Guardian and Caxtons. We have had clients in other African countries, and as far afield as California.
How do we actually work? Below are two examples of projects for major clients. Both sites have been Loerie Award finalists.
CITY OF JOHANNESBURG
www.joburg.org.za
City councils run hundreds of often-fascinating projects, many of them of direct importance to residents. But neither ratepayers nor the media pay much attention to them. In 2001, the Johannesburg City Council embarked on a bold communications strategy, using the internet to talk directly to the public. The aim was to:
- Communicate directly with the public about new council projects
- Provide an overview of every aspect of the council's work
- Project an image of Johannesburg as a vibrant place to visit
- Foster a sense of civic pride among residents
The project tender was won by Big Media, whose first task was to produce an interim web site in just a fortnight, in time for the mayor's budget speech. We delivered. Since then, the site has expanded into an encyclopaedic resource of thousands of pages, setting a new standard for local government websites, some of which have adopted similar formats. Nine years later, Big Media continues to run the site.
The site philosophy is to provide a consumer friendly guide to city services. There are easily accessible contact numbers for accounts queries, emergencies and complaints, and a guide to the city in general, including places to visit, history of the city and heritage sites, investment opportunities, development initiatives, anti-crime strategies, community police forums, improvements to health, housing or schooling. All of this content is conceived, researched, written and edited by our staff.
But what really distinguishes the site is that content is not left to chance: it is run by a full-time team, headed by an experienced internet editor, updating the information all day, every day. The front page, packed with news and features about the city, is designed to draw audiences by entertaining and informing, and is updated at least twice a day.
The strategy has paid off handsomely for the city. The audience visiting the web site has expanded ten-fold. Newspapers and radio stations treat the site as a news source, greatly improving the exposure of local government projects to the public. The site won the Business Day Corporate Website award for the best government web site, and was praised as an example of best practice in the Cities Network peer review of the city.
SOUTH AFRICAN GATEWAY
www.southafrica.info
South Africa is believed to be the only country with an official web site covering all aspects of national life. Aimed at residents, would-be investors and tourists, the site is part of an umbrella branding campaign to raise the country's profile abroad and create excitement about its potential.
The client is the International Marketing Council, a public-private partnership project that operates within the President's Office.
The gateway site gives foreigners a taste of South Africa's wide range of attractions and opportunities, including overviews of the economy, trade incentives and regulations, culture and heritage, holiday attractions, and basic tips on travel documentation, accommodation and transport.
For locals, there is advice on government services from passports to language rights to the school system, and advice on dealing with banks, estate agents and insurance. There are also showcase examples of South African innovation, entertainment, sports and business conference guides, and a carefully selected directory of local websites useful to foreigners.
The audience has grown exponentially over the years, and compares favourably with the top dozen commercial websites in South Africa. As content is added, the site has grown into a one-stop information centre about a wide range of South African topics. Big Media supplies a permanent team of web-savvy editors, writers and researchers to keep the information constantly up to date.
Several related sites have grown out of southafrica.info. MediaClub South Africa, for example, is an information resource on South Africa, customised for the world's print and online publishers. It provides a constantly updated library of background information, feature and current affairs articles and high-resolution photographs.
The project team have kept pace with the latest web ideas and technologies. There are mobile sites, for example, customised for easy viewing on cellphones. There are interactive maps, blogs, and groups on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube. Video content has become increasingly important, and experienced video specialists have been added to the staff. Social interaction is being expanded, to encourage engagement with the audience.
