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How TIC helped redefine NIIT University as a brand
and brought it to life on the university's website
Project: Redefining the brand and revamp the university's website, www.niituniversity.in to reflect the brand purpose, message and personality.
The Client
NIIT University, a not-for-profit institution, that was set up with the aim to provide technology-based, research-driven education that is linked to the industry.
The Brief
To create a mobile-first website that is high on user experience, rich in relevant information, captures effectively the brand and its story and deliver business results. The website had to highlight the NU advantage in a youthful and vibrant 'voice' that was both aspirational and future-oriented.
The Challenge
- To accurately portray the brand in accordance with its archetype and personality
- To create an equally delightful experience for two very disparate audiences GenZ (potential students) and GenX (parents of potential students)
- To create a contemporary looking, search engine optimised website with high performance:
- < 2 seconds for page downloads
- 80+ score for money pages
- A score of at least 50 on Page Speed Insights
The TIC Approach
TIC undertook a structured approach to the task.
We began the process with a comprehensive Brand Study. We did extensive research (in the form of digital surveys and interviews) of NIIT University's target stakeholder groups, and combined it with intense discussions with the top leadership team at NU and reference work on past media coverage.
The insights gathered were used to derive the brand differentiators (from the stakeholders' perspective), the brand messaging architecture, brand archetype, and brand physique for the university. Additionally, we also unravelled stakeholder experiences in the form of CSAT index and NPS scores that the university is using to take key strategic decisions.
This was followed by an in-depth UX Study that focused on understanding user behaviour and discovering the needs and pain points of the target group. It involved:
- Focus group discussions with internal stakeholders (Founders, Nurturers, Placements, Admissions and HR)
- Qualitative and quantitative analysis of inputs from the target demographic (Students, Parents, Alumni, Faculty)
- Secondary research that encompassed Google Analytics, Web Research, Analysis and Brand Study
- Benchmarking competition
Team TIC then proposed a content strategy and design based on this initial research and analysis of both studies.
Implementation
The recommendations from both the studies were incorporated into the site at all levels – in the information architecture, in the writing, in the selection of pictures and in the backend too. We used the necessary tools to ensure we meet the key objective of delivering business results.
We ensured we meet the technical targets set early on: < 2 seconds for page download, 80+ SEO score, etc We did a photo shoot on campus to get the right kind of images and we focused on the task at hand, to do what we do best: tell a story. And we did.
We pitched NU as a forward-looking university that places its students front and centre of all that they do. We talked about the sustainable campus and the green architecture. We highlighted the NU vision and its emblem and motto. And throughout the process, we never lost sight of the goal of the website – to highlight the NU Difference. In the process, we also ensured a user-friendly, interactive experience to appeal to the end users.
The website was successfully launched on 5-May-2022
Looking for a business-friendly website that is also appealing and interactive? Please get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
Rallis India Website
Brief
To create a global website for Rallis, a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals, that would clearly communicate Rallis' product offerings, services and solutions to the stakeholders. The website should highlight Rallis' vision and mission of making farmers' lives better.
Execution:
Challenge
To efficiently collaborate with the different departments across Rallis for content, to create a website design that would still look relevant and young in the coming years and to have a good SEO ranking.
Approach
While it's no easy task to create a website with 300 webpages, our team at TIC efficiently used immersive design experiences, SEO-optimised content and images to create a user-friendly website with fresh imagery, a vast product catalogue, global content and easy navigation. Here's how we did it:
- Optimised content readability: Knowing that readability is one of the most important aspects of design, we created a website that wasn't text heavy. With smart spacing between headers, sub-headers and body text, we improved the readability and the flow of the content.
- Created an improved browsing experience by adding micro-interactions: We added micro-interactions on the website to create an engaging user experience. With subtle nuances such as small animations, text pop-ups and interactive images, we added life to the website and ensured that it was engaging.
- Designed a product catalogue that would appeal to the stakeholders: Rallis boasts a robust product portfolio which enables farmers to improve their productivity. To showcase Rallis' product offerings to stakeholders, we created a product catalogue of 250 products. We rewrote product descriptions, resized the images and created a call to action button for enquires related to the products.
- Maintained communication with various departments on the clients' side: With many departments on the client's side, we maintained efficient and regular communication to ensure we receive the raw content. With a brilliant team of content writers, webmasters and designers, we were able to collect, write and present the necessary information on the website. To ensure that the website is optimised to rank high on search engines, we used SEO-optimised keywords, descriptions, meta-tags and image alt-texts.
Results
Our efforts resulted in a website with a friendly interface and a modern yet traditional design that was greatly appreciated by the client. The website gained more than 9,000 new users organically in just four months since the website went live.
Looking for a business-friendly website that is also appealing and interactive? Please get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
Grasim Industries Website
Brief
To create a contemporary website for Grasim Industries Limited, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group. The new website design had to be fresh, global, interactive and visually appealing.
Execution:
Challenge
The website needed to position Grasim as a leader in sustainable manufacturing and needed to appeal to the investors. The website had to be created on a short deadline with limited content.
Approach
Our approach was to design a user-friendly website with well-formatted content and visually appealing designs that would enable stakeholders to easily navigate the website and access relevant information. We added interactive graphics to give life to the website and provide a good user experience.
In terms of content, we came up with three pillars to focus on—the company's history, investors' section, and Grasim's CSR and sustainability activities.
To highlight the company's history, we create a timeline that marked the major milestones for the company and wrote about the company's values. For the investors' section, we presented quarterly and annual reports in an organised tabular format and provided an analytical tool for the same. To position Grasim as a leader in sustainable manufacturing, we elaborated on their sustainability goals, initiatives, and reports.
Given our 19+ year client relationship with the Aditya Birla Group, our writers were able to use their knowledge about the Group to write and give suggestions despite being provided with limited content. Our writers were familiar with the Group's style and tone and were able to position Grasim as an industry leader in sustainable manufacturing.
Being a huge website, it needed to be updated frequently. The previously built HTML website didn't support regular website maintenance. Therefore, we built a CMS website that would allow for quick and seamless updates whenever required.
Results
The website traffic skyrocketed after the revamp. The number of website users were up by 92%, website sessions increased by 85% and page views were up by 42%. The new website was user-friendly, dynamic, and had a highly appealing design.
Looking for a business-friendly website that is also appealing and interactive? Please get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
How TIC Helped Godrej Transform a Food Blog
Top-notch Publishing Platform with a 2500% Increase
in Traffic
About the Client: The Godrej Group is one of India's most respected business conglomerates. Revenues of over USD 4.1 billion and a global consumer base of 1.1 billion make the Group a high-performing business organisation. From aerospace and defence, appliances, food and agriculture, chemicals, to financial services, engineering, home & personal care, security solutions and real estate, the Group's business spans a wide spectrum of industries.
The Client Need
The Godrej Group started hosting a blog called 'Vikhroli Cucina' in 2015 to establish the brand's association with the world of food. The platform was successful in attracting a lot of relevant traffic to it. Food influencers, bloggers, food enthusiasts, chefs, home chefs, media, and hospitality students flocked to consume the content published by Vikhroli Cucina.
Five years down the line, the team at Godrej, felt the need to transform Vikhroli Cucina from a one-way publishing blog to a more expansive publishing platform, where the blog's content consumers would also become active content contributors and the website would attract a larger audience.
The target audience would remain the same: food influencers, bloggers, food enthusiasts, chefs, home chefs, media, and hospitality students.
The intent was to take Vikhroli Cucina to the next level and in doing so, the brand would achieve the following strategic objectives:
- Give people in the food business space, something of great value
- Engage people from the food space in a more tangible manner
- Strengthen the association of brand Godrej with the food business and improve brand recall
- Enhance the reputation of brand Godrej as a thoughtleader in the food business
To achieve the brand's communication objectives, the team at Godrej, engaged their long-time content partner, TIC, to transform Vikhroli Cucina from a blog to a publishing platform.
Implementation Challenges
The transformation of a blog to a publishing site had its fair share of challenges:
- Creating a delightful digital experience for a diverse and disparate audience: The platform needed to create an intuitive and delightful digital experience for a diverse and disparate group of people ranging from celebrities to amateurs, and from the digitally-savvy to the digitally challenged. The platform also needed to engage users and encourage them to contribute content.
- Getting the right people for the UX/UI study: It was critical to identify and engage the right people from the target audience to conduct focus group discussions to get the UX/UI study right for the new site.
- Ensuring a steady content pipeline: The platform needed a smart content strategy to ensure that the pipeline would never dry up because now there were dependencies on users to generate content.
- Going live within a tight deadline: The site needed to go live within 15 weeks in time for an event.
The TIC Approach and Solution
TIC used its strategic 4D approach to discover client and audience needs, define personas and user journeys, draw up the content strategy, design and develop the site and finally measure the impact of the transformation. Here are some key highlights of our solution:
The tell-all UI/UX study: A comprehensive UI/UX study was conducted. The study involved focus group discussions with a cohort from the target audience. The real-world study was complemented with simulation studies done on the existing site. The results revealed the exact user journeys and their content needs that helped in creating personalised user experiences for each segment.
A fool-proof, smart content strategy: Content was the fuel that would keep the Vikhroli Cucina site alive and kicking. It was critical to develop a strategy to make sure that the content pipeline never dried up. Also, the content needed to be fresh, topical, interesting to all the visitors of the site with the ability to position Godrej as a thoughtleader in the food space.
Team TIC came up with an editorial strategy that included the following content pillars:
- Topical themes (e.g. seasons, festivals, year-end celebrations, Covid, etc)
- Food-related observance days (e.g. World Milk Day, World Chocolate Day, etc)
- Stories based on viral content
- Ideas that would align with food trends from the Godrej Food Trends Report
- News and press releases
The content ideas were then mapped to the various interests/sections developed from the UX/UI study and the user-generated content would be added to the calendar of ideas. Additionally, team TIC managed the bulk of content creation for the site.
The Results and Impact
After a rigorous two-month process of developing the strategy, creating the content, creating the designs and developing the technology, www.vikhrolicucina.com was launched in February 2020 at an event that had the who's who of the food world in attendance.
Within a year of its launch, Vikhroli Cucina has provided a thriving space for food brands, influencers, chefs, home chefs, bloggers and food lovers to engage and collaborate. Celebrated people from the food world who have associated with Vikhroli Cucina include Tara Deshpande, Chef Vicky Ratnani, Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, Chef Ranveer Brar, Kalyan Karmakar, Chef Varun Inamdar, Rakhee Vaswani, etc.
Here's a quick glance at some of the content that visitors have loved:
- Going beyond chai and pakoras during the monsoon
- Lesser-known food to feast on during Ganesh Chaturthi
- What the FSSAI says you should keep in mind during Covid 19
- The convenient comeback
- Twitter user cooks 4000-year-old recipes in lockdown
The website performance numbers have soared after the transformation validating the content and UI/UX strategy that was developed by TIC. Here's a look at the numbers:
- Website traffic has increased by a whopping 2500%
- Page Views have increased by 1500%
After the transformation, the platform has won two prestigious awards under Best UI/UX website categories at Afaqs Digies awards 2020 and Afaqs Marketers Excellence Awards 2021.
Looking for a business-friendly website that is also appealing and interactive? Please get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
Aditya Birla Group website
Project: Revamp the Aditya Birla Group Corporate Website
Brief
Create a website that reflects Aditya Birla Group’s values, ethos and ‘Big In Your Life’ persona. Showcase the Group’s future-forward, tech-savvy side while highlighting its compassionate approach towards stakeholder value creation and community building.
Execution
Challenge
Creating a website that blends corporate values with brand messages for sectors ranging from cement and metals to fashion and apparel, entailed striking the right balance of design, content and messaging. The website also needed to meet current user experience expectations of communication and technology.
Approach
We took the approach of showcasing how the Group is big in consumers’ everyday lives. We narrated stories about the indispensable nature of Group’s brands and the reach of its community- building initiatives. An AI chatbot is integrated to facilitate two-way communication. Throughout the process, we were focused on showcasing the future-forward and innovation-led nature of the Group while upholding its values. The website was created in seven global languages to address stakeholders across the world.
Results
The focus on wholesome user experience has resulted in high traffic levels and an engaged audience who is keen to know more about the brand and share its stories with others.
Looking for a business-friendly website that is also appealing and interactive? Please get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
Design Dekko website
Client: Godrej Interio
Project: www.designdekko.com – An online community for architects and interior designers
Brief
Create a first-of-its-kind platform for the architect and interior designer community to network, engage and collaborate. The platform should be visual, functional, community-centric, drive conversations and enable businesses to grow.
Challenge
Building a thriving community of niche audience (architects and interior designers) that allows exchange of ideas was a novel task. We had to understand the needs and motivations of a highly informed audience to design a platform that they would find interesting to use.
Approach
The best way to build a successful community is to ask the target audience what they want. We did a UI/Ux study. We conducted surveys and spoke to many seasoned architects and interior designers to understand what they expected from a community like this. The study helped us create a content, design and engagement strategy that excites the target audience and ultimately drives more engagement. We developed the site using open source technology.
Results
A cross between LinkedIn and Instagram, www.designdekko.com, within a year of its launch, has a thriving user base with many professionals regularly contributing to guest blogs. Brand Design Dekko is now well known within the design community with an increasing number of professionals showcasing their work and benefitting from the platform. Design Dekko has an active social media presence too.
Looking for a business-friendly website that is also appealing and interactive? Please get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
Ambuja cement website
Client
Ambuja Cement, part of the global conglomerate LafargeHolcim, is among the leading cement companies in India, with a well-known and well-respected brand.
Brief
Ambuja Cement asked us to design and develop a world-class website that would show off its wide range of products, services, CSR initiatives, etc, and also serve as the go-to place for investors and other stakeholders for key information about the company’s activities.
Outcome
We developed a website with a highly appealing look and design that highlighted the company’s reach and portfolio. The website content reflects the brand’s core values and its status in the Indian cement industry. Responsive, device-friendly, search engine-friendly, the new website has helped the company improve its engagement with customers, investors and other audiences.
Looking for a business-friendly website that is also appealing and interactive? Please get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
Godrej Vikhroli Cucina blog
Client
The Godrej Group is among India’s leading and most trusted brands. With revenues of over USD 4.1 billion and touching 1.1 billion consumers globally, the Group spans businesses that include consumer goods, security solutions, appliances, real estate and agriculture, among others.
Brief
Godrej wanted to create an online platform that would bring together all its brands in the food category. This platform was to be a space where food brands, chefs, bloggers, influencers and food lovers could come together and collaborate for ideas. We suggested developing an exciting new food blog.
Outcome
We designed and developed VikhroliCucina.com, a food blog that features new perspectives on food, cuisines, kitchen hacks, and India’s leading chefs and food bloggers. We have been managing the blog for three years and we keep it appealing with seasonal recipes, food trends and coverage of food events.
Are you thinking of a blog? Get in touch with us at enquiry@ticworks.com
Cipla blog
Client
One of the most respected pharmaceutical companies in India, Cipla is present in 100 countries across the globe and offers over 150 world-class pharma products.
Brief
Cipla asked us to develop an impactful blog that would serve as the corporate voice of the company. The mandate involved developing a ‘wow’ design, intuitive and friendly UX/UI, and focused, shareable content. The blog design had to reflect Cipla’s legacy and be mobile-first and social media-friendly. The content had to reach out to a variety of stakeholders such as government, media, investors, industry influencers, doctors and consumers.
Outcome
We developed a contemporary, uniquely-Cipla design that is highly visual and easy to navigate. We created categories to classify the blogs and thus deliver the right messaging to appeal to different audiences. We wrote blogs on behalf of Cipla leaders to help establish their voice online and build their personal brand. To make the content more social media friendly, we developed infographic-based blogs and videos. We also integrated a live Twitter feed into the blog, thus creating a single platform for Cipla’s corporate and social voice.
If you would like us to develop a high-performing blog for you, please send us a mail at enquiry@ticworks.com right away!