What TNS asked for
TNS approached TH_NK early 2007 with a brief to redevelop their existing website and breathe new life into their digital strategy.
TNS has grown massively in the last decade through acquisition and has consequently developed in a fragmented way. They wanted their new global website to consolidate their brand and present a united front to customers, investors and stakeholders.
Content management was very important to TNS as was the inclusion of rich media channels to differentiate them from their competitors. Search engine optimisation was also an important consideration for TNS as they wanted it to be incorporated throughout the build, not just after ‘go live’.
What we did
The project initially consisted of an information discovery phase where key stakeholders from each business function were involved in workshops and activities to understand the company's objectives and user goals. This allowed us to ascertain their core user groups and the motivations for people visiting the site. We referred back to these users and motivations throughout the project to ensure that the site was meeting the users’ needs, not just those of the business.
We designed and built a dynamic website for the TNS global brand which incorporates engaging creative design and interactive features to enrich the user experience and strengthen their position as the market leaders in their sector.
The project build incorporated the enterprise-level RedDot content management system which allows staff from across the business to edit and upload articles, videos, images and podcasts as and when they need to. The site is fully DDA compliant and RedDot ensures all new content adheres to these standards too.
TNS also chose us for their managed services requirements. We currently host the global website on a dedicated platform, with software and hardware support to ensure it runs as efficiently as possible at all times. TNS has a maintenance contract which allows them to make technical and visual changes to the website under a service level agreement.
From an SEO perspective, TNS global has risen in the search engine rankings. We have implemented Web analytics to track site traffic and to ensure they receive the optimum return on future online marketing campaigns.
The results
The TNS brand now has a definitive style which will unite the company irrespective of country or business area.
The number of online visitors has increased since the new website went live in August 2007, with users spending longer viewing pages than they previously had.
The global stakeholders are delighted with the results and are now in the process of updating their own country-specific sites in a consistent style. Our collaborative way of working allowed them to contribute to the site and truly feel that their needs were taken into consideration.
As a result of this success, we have been commissioned to look into redeveloping several other TNS country and business-specific websites, which we are currently involved with.
We chose TH_NK because of their expertise in everything from creative design and online marketing to hosting and strategy. The new site has consolidated our global brand presence, representing a united front to customers, investors and stakeholders. We were really impressed with the results, so much so, that we hope to roll this out across a number of TNS country and business-specific websites in the coming months.
Alex SmithWeb Marketing Manager, TNS Global