Case Study: Army Rugby Union
The Army Rugby Union (ARU) exists to promote and encourage the game of rugby within the British Army. Formed in 1906, it is responsible for overseeing competitions, a coaching organisation and a Referees’ Society (the ARURS). The Union’s signature event is the infamous Twickenham match played between the Army and Royal Navy every spring, which draws in 60,000 fans.
ARU – website design and development
The brief:
The ARU wanted a new website that would reflect their authoritative position in the rugby community, and communicate effectively with their key audiences. The new site had to be technically sound, easy to update and be easy for visitors to navigate. The design needed to be brought up to date with a dynamic new look that could be adapted for other platforms.
How we did it:
Basing the theme of the new site on a striking red shade, traditionally the colour of the British Army, we reorganised the homepage, subpages and site information architecture from scratch. We implemented new menus that could be populated with contact forms, images, links and even news articles.
Once the ARU were happy and excited with the design and layout, we set about migrating all website content into a flexible platform that could cope with daily content updates. Whether the site is maintained by Innovative Consultancy or by ARU staff, it is intuitive and very quick to update via a content management system (CMS).
The result:
The new ARU website is dynamic, professional and geared towards the ARU’s key audiences.The homepage highlights the key content that users want to see. There is also the flexibility within the site architecture to add more content as the Union grows, with clear calls to action for the shop and newsletter signup on every page.
We were delighted that the ARU who passed on their profound appreciation for an ’outstanding job’. Since the new site was launched, the ARU have benefitted from more traffic, higher conversion rates and increased ticket sales compared with the same period the previous year.
ARU e-Commerce design and development
The brief:
The first phase of the project was to redesign and build a bespoke online shop that would highlight key products and generate more sales. To ensure continuous service to customers it was imperative that this new shop was live within four weeks of the start of the project. Precise co-ordination, management and technical knowledge were essential to finish the project within the required timeframe.
How we did it:
Using industry knowledge we selected the best e-commerce software for the job and ensured that products could be updated in-house. We then developed the store in line with the Union’s requirements and organised a photo shoot to show the products at their best.
After extensive testing of the shop’s functionality, we built all pages and trained ARU staff on how to upload or edit the content.
The result:
In its first month the new online store generated tens of thousands of pounds worth of revenue for the ARU. ARU staff are able to update products at the click of a button, saving them both time and money. Additionally, we have integrated a newsletter signup option into the checkout so that every time a customer places an order they can sign up to receive more information from the Union.
The Army Rugby Union were delighted with their new site and also with how promptly it was delivered: “We have already seen the benefits of what a professional shop site can produce; that is entirely down to the advice and guidance that Innovative consultancy have offered to us.” Chris Fowke, ARU Secretary
ARU email newsletters
The brief:
After the successful launch of the ARU Online Shop, the ARU asked us to design them an e-mail newsletter template that they could populate themselves monthly which would drive ticket sales, encourage visits to the online shop and update stakeholders with ARU news.
How we did it:
One of the key objectives of the newsletter was to ensure return-on-investment for the ARU, so we identified how the design and content could help generate interest and, most importantly, sales. We created a theme that tied in with the website and eCommerce store, that would appeal to the ARU’s key audience and, after approval from the Union, our developer integrated the design into the newsletter.
We then linked it to the newsletter signup form on the ARU site. After testing, the ARU could now send a monthly professional e-newsletter to thousands of ARU customers at once, ensuring and driving interest to the website and online store.
