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HTML5 and a new mobile app from Absolute Radio

May 21, 2010 By Dan Thornton

The Apple iPad is about to launch in the UK, and in preparation, Absolute Radio is now available in a HTML5 version for all you iPad and iPhone owners to be able to listen to all the audio and see all the videos.

And in case you’re wondering, that’s all the audio and video throughout the whole site – not just the first couple of pages.

And that’s in addition to the release of the all new Baddiel & Skinner Football Kit App for iPhone and Android, with support from Sony-Ericsson for the Android version.

It’s got the Baddiel & Skinner Absolute Radio Podcasts, a pub locator, score prediction game, red and yellow cards, football soundboard, an illustrated guide for doing goal celebrations, and a football rattle when you shake your phone!

This is the link for iTunes. And you can find it via your handset on Android. The great news is that it went straight into the Top 20 Paid Sports Apps on the UK iTunes store, and it’s currently floating around the Top Ten.

(Disclosure: I work for Absolute Radio as Digital Marketing Manager.)

And in case I forget, I’m out and about over the next couple of weeks, so feel free to grab me for a chat etc if you see me at:

Specialist Media Show, May 25th, Peterborough (Hosting a round table on mobile)

Open Mobile Summit, May 26th, London (Doing a quick 2 minute piece on our work on Nokia platforms at a couple of different times during the day in the Nokia lounge.)

M-Publishing, June 1, London (Hosting a round table on mobile publishing).

So come chat if you spot me…

Successful websites need a tailored proposition

June 3, 2008 By Dan Thornton

The most important element of a successful website isn’t the technology, the content, or the marketing. It’s having a clear and defined proposition which is understood by the entire team – and most importantly, by the users of the website.

I’d always been implicitly aware that the likes of Google, Ebay et al had a clear purpose upon which they’d built success, and yet I’m as guilty as anyone of putting the cart before the horse, and trying to fill something with content, and market it, without ensuring that there was a clear proposition in place. That’s even true of this blog, which has evolved over time, but really began as a general internet/tech blog. Even now, posts like this are somewhat at odds with my main focus on community and social media marketing!

Anyhow, since moving from editorial to marketing, I’ve had the chance to see how much a clear proposition helps the titles I work with – much of it driven by great work by one of my colleagues, Charlie Watson. Suddenly there’s a clear purpose and drive which can be lacking, particularly on sites which have been going for some time without direction.

But it’s also important to remember that direction and proposition may need to change over time, and be adapted in response to your audience. And that was underlined by a great meeting with the Ditto team yesterday. I can’t say what’s changed quite yet, but I can say that I’m constantly impressed with the way they respond to their audience, whilst maintaining a clear focus and proposition.

I guess it great propositions boil down to:

Define a clear and simple aim for your site which differentiates itself from competitors, and aims to answer the needs of your audience.
Monitor how effective the proposition is, and be open to changing it. Noone has ever got it exactly right first time – but the biggest websites listened and evolved more quickly than their competitors.
Don’t be tempted to keep adding ‘and also this’ to the proposition. It needs to be so clear and simple you can convey it with one look at your homepage, or in a few words in ad advert or message board. Or even in a logo. You can’t do that if the proposition is 3 paragraphs long with an appendix! Google’s proposition is summed up by a logo and search box.

Oh, and if that does help you build the next big thing, my commission is around 10%!

Drive online website registrations by tackling stress and panic

February 20, 2008 By Dan Thornton

They may or may not be beneficial to your health, but stress and panic can be two of the biggest motivators around – particularly with a deadline looming. So why don’t more companies look at how they can answer these problems? As Seth Godin posted a while back, “That thing you’re marketing… Does it add to stress or take it away?”

It seems that there would be a huge marketing advantage in reducing stress and panic across every industry, but some would find it could be their biggest advantage over their competitors, particularly when it comes to markets like insurance or finance.

A great case in point is insurance. I recently needed the insurance documents for my car, which appear to have gone missing when I moved house. And I needed them fast.

So I rang my car insurers at Direct Line. By post the documents take days to arrive. And despite the fact I was personally authorising (and almost begging) them to fax me a copy, it’s against their company policy. (It might be against Data Protection rules etc, but the stated reason was company policy). So their company policy is effectively to ignore the fact a customer is asking them to fax a copy of documents showing details of that customer.

So the next step was to take a look online. Hidden on the Direct Line homepage is an option for existing customers to log in and access and service policies. Which could theoretically solve my problem.

Looking good, isn’t it?

Nope.

Because to register and use this function, I need to include an ‘Online Customer Code’. Which has to be requested and then sent, via post! And to request an online customer code, I need to use my policy number. Which wasn’t in the same location as my computer.

So despite the fact I’ve been a customer for years, and the myriad methods of communication available, I’m still relying on someone printing a certificate, putting it in an envelope, and sending it to me days after I actually needed it.

The solution?
There are lots of methods available, and I’m not a Data Protection expert. But why couldn’t I specify an email address when I first apply for insurance, and have a PDF copy of my insurance certificate emailed to me? I’m far less likely to misplace my laptop/email account than a piece of paper?

Or why not automatically register me for the online service when I set up my insurance? That way, the confirmation would be sent with my certificate (or separately around the same time), and it might prompt me to log in, set a memorable password, and then be able to access it when I really need it?

Either method, or a suitable alternative, would have seen Direct Line get a valid email address to contact me with – rather than having to post endless direct mailings to try and get my home insurance with them (It’s actually already with them, under my partner’s name!), or to take out a loan.

It would have also meant I wouldn’t have rushed around in a panic, turned the house upside down, and now have the stress and panic prompting me to think about changing my insurance company when my policy comes up for renewal. Which is actually just a couple of months away!
And I’d be busy recommending a company that had reduced my stress, rather than made me waste my time on the phone and online to find out my simple problem wouldn’t be solved.

Avoidance:
So to avoid similar feelings towards your company, ignore technology, silos, separate teams etc. And just get together at the start of the consumer/user process and think about what it is that the person will want and need, and also why they might need these things in a hurry at some point. Then just work out if there’s a way to pre-empt these problems without running into legal or Data Protection problems. If so, use it. If not, then make it clear that there is a legal reason for the stress, rather than simply ‘company policy’. Unless your ‘company policy’ is to piss off your consumers.

N:B I fully intended to give Direct Line a right to reply, but it appears you can only contact them via the postal service, or by paying the cost of phoning an 0845 number.