Below is a case study I wrote about the site for various articles and speeches. The awards list follows below that.

Nokia is a prime example of why a company should make use of the Internet. They need to be extremely customer-oriented in everything they do. Their product lines change constantly as does the education process in becoming aware of their attributes and benefits as well as simply using the mobile phones. By going online and using other new media tools, they can now better market their products and retain existing customers. Even encourage them on why they should upgrade or buy various accessories. All this is done by capitalizing both on their powerful above-the-line ad campaign and the flexible environment of the World Wide Web.

Nokia Mobile Phones is a very strong, leading brand around the world. The World Wide Web afforded the company an opportunity for it to live up to its tag line of “Connecting People” in many new, proactive ways. Among them was allowing users to contact Nokia directly, talk to other Nokia customers, get comprehensive information on products - be they brand new or old favorites, instill more loyalty by defining the personality of these users through fun and creative contests and by equating the experience on the Web site with the ease and sophistication of using Nokia’s product line.

Brand consistency has always been a key component of the development of the site. The creative treatment is always tied closely with new thematic and tactical ad campaigns. When a person sees a TV commercial or a print ad and then comes to the site, they know they're dealing with the same company and they will get what has been promised. Too many businesses see the Internet as an isolated medium where the rules of strong brand building do not apply. Luckily for the consumer, Nokia isn’t one of them.

The layout of the pages, therefore, follows the refreshing, lively look and feel of the print ads and product packaging. It is kept very clean with an emphasis on functionality. The vignettes that serve as the imagery for the five main areas of the home page have been optimized for quick loading and minimal screen space while still creating a nice visual impact. The white area surrounding them allows a balancing of icons which change frequently as new interactive utilities, contests, and other features are developed and promoted. The online brochures match the print ones as closely as possible, yet are optimized for the environment.

All of Nokia’s phones are menu driven. This was a Nokia innovation and is a feature which allows the user to quickly access information or other aspects of his or her mobile phone. To tie-in this familiar, core aspect of Nokia’s products, we developed a completely unique interface to supplement the optional, yet typical, iconic and textual links. Dubbed “SmartChoice,” the miracle of this interface remains transparent to the user. They needn’t know how complex a system it is, or that there is anything special about it. All that matters is that by using it they are able to find any information regarding Nokia, her products or her partners quickly, easily and without undue waiting.

It works by presenting the user with a pull-down menu which sports a headline imploring the site to “Tell me more about...” with a list of simple options: products, Nokia, Nokia throughout the world, travelling with my Nokia phone. Selecting, for instance, ‘products’ causes a second menu to appear next to the first - seemingly out of nowhere. It contains a plethora of options relating to Nokia products. Some will take you directly to the information or demonstration requested, others will result in a third menu popping up next to it to target-in on even further possibilities. At any time the user can go back and select an option from a previous menu, say “Nokia,” so the third menu can disappear from whence it came and the second menu’s options can change to reflect the new category. All dynamically, automatically, instantaneous and intelligently. The user needn’t click and wait for a new page to load. And click and wait for another page and another and so forth. No trying to make sense out of the Web designer’s own idea of structure or having to deal with his graphic-ladened ego.

The idea is to cater to individual users’ interests, no matter what they may be. Never to assume what kind of information is more important to them. However, we do help them make informed decisions via utilities such as “Choose Me” which asks a series of questions and then recommends the phone or phones which fit the potential customer’s needs, eliminating those models which aren’t available in their country. This way they are never disappointed. It’s like having a highly knowledgeable sales person at their beck and call. We supplement tools like “Choose Me” with interactive and passive demonstrations of the newest models which allow the consumer to see, and sometimes use, their key benefits. We make use of technology such as streaming Shockwave which is supported on all major computer platforms and facilitates very smooth and impressive presentations.

Even when we have contests, we make sure they emphasize an impressive feature of a new model or encourage the entrant to explore the site for the information they need.

So, to recap, we make sure the site is tightly aligned with Nokia’s brand campaigns; we provide comprehensive information on all aspects of Nokia and her products in both passive and interactive ways; we cater the experience to the individual user - never assuming we know his or her specific wants - in a way familiar to Nokia’s products; and we keep the look and feel of the site highly sophisticated, inviting and professional but optimized for the environment of the World Wide Web in which it resides.

This is all in addition to projects we’ve done and are doing concerning CD-ROMs, interactive kiosks, screensavers and the like. Each complimenting the other and all with the goal of helping a potential customer understand why it is they should be purchasing a Nokia mobile phone, reaffirming the wise choice of an existing customer, maintaining loyalty and informing all targets about how Nokia is committed to the future and the betterment of people’s lives.

None of that would have been possible had we just put up a corporate bio, some product brochures and lists of dealers. Where would the benefits be? Why should I, as someone who wants a mobile phone, want to buy Nokia over one of their competitors? I can sit there and listen to the traditional advertisements and be swayed by whichever Creative Director was the most clever, or I could follow the call to action line that gives me the Web site address or where to pick up a CD-ROM demonstration or see a kiosk and gauge for myself. Much better than going to a phone dealer where I’d be either pressured or ignored by a salesperson. Where I’d feel compelled to make a quick decision - for how many of us really shop around as much as we should? A salesperson’s job is to hard sell something as quickly as possible so they can get someone else’s money. Their recommendations are largely based on personal opinion or whichever model their boss is pushing them to sell immediately. But with new media, I can sit at my desk and compare for myself with the large amounts of tools available. If Nokia’s competitors don’t have the same tools, that would simply make me think they aren’t as committed to customer service as Nokia - or perhaps they have something to hide. Or maybe they just don’t understand my needs.

The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies (the 4As) gave this site a first place award in both its 1997 & 1998 “Creative Circle Awards” because of its relevant integrated advertising strategies, easy of use, intelligent & unique navigation, quick-loading speed and design. The judges in 1998 included producers from Yahoo! and C|NET.The 4As began this category in 1997.

It was a finalist in the 1999 Clio International Advertising Festival.

And the site won first place in the “Best of the Web 1997” awards held by the Singaporean ISP, Pacific Internet, and sponsored by Apple, Sun, Cisco and Ascend.

It also won a silver/“Best Commerical Site” in the “Best of the Web 1996” held by Sembawang Media of Singapore, also sponsored by Apple and other technological companies.

It was the first site in Asia to win the coveted “Shocked Site of the Week” from Macromedia.

Web Review Magazine thought it good enough to award the site its “We’re BAD” award.

There was also “Cool Site of the Day” kudos from NetGuide.

Orientation, the most popular Web site rating directory in Asia, says the site merits their “Top 10 Sites Editors’ Choice” distinction.

The Singapore Internet Community voted it “Best of the Asia Pacific”.

The Web Designer’s Directory thinks it’s a “Gold Medal” site.

Delta PC Magazine just think it’s a “Cool” site.