Client: Microsoft OEM
Project: Web site design (2012)
Agency: Venture Arts
Creatives: Deric Jones - art director / Vic Lipsey - creative director
Hard-to-find marketing assets
Microsoft sells most of its software through original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Think Dell, Toshiba, Sony, etc. These partners, and their creative agencies, need quick access to Microsoft digital assets to create consistent ads for co-advertising. Thus, the Microsoft OEM Elements site was born. All on SharePoint.
Unfortunately, the original solution was deeply flawed. Buried content, poor navigation, and numerous conflicts with Microsoft’s latest brand guidelines added up to a frustrating user experience that strained partner relationships. Additionally, the customer service inbox was bursting at the seams. Not good.
Venture Arts was brought in by Allyis, an IT consulting group, that would develop the back-end, while we designed the front-end. Our process uncovered the user-experience (UX) needs, as well as client and brand requirements. The end result (above) was delivered on-time and on-budget.
Results:
- After launch, the number of registered users doubled to 1,600 design and marketing agency employees.
- And emails to the customer service inbox dropped to nearly zero.
- Kudos from the Microsoft client: "The graphic UI work [will] bring a new level of sophistication, which we are excited about."
- And, even better...
Microsoft then reached out with additional creative requests. "Do you guys do video?" Yep. "What about ____?" Absolutely.
On behalf of the consultant, we continued to serve additional requests from the end client. In two years, we completed 20 additional projects - extending the consulting team’s capabilities and helping them grow their business.
