November 6, 2019
We may have put away our tear stained England Rugby shirts for another 4 years and eaten the last of our Halloween sweets – but here in the Fanatic Studio we’ve still got something to celebrate.
For a couple of months we’ve been hinting and promising that something really exciting is on the way and this month we’re delighted to announce that the wait is finally over. It’s here. You’re on it. Our new website is now live (cue fanfare).
The team have been working their socks off showcasing their amazing talents in design and development to bring to life everything we do here at Fanatic. There’s also some sneaky insights into what takes place behind the scenes and how we do what we do.
So, if you haven’t done so already sit back, grab a cup of tea and explore the story of Fanatic on our new timeline, watch our showreel, check out the new team photos and take a look at our portfolio of case studies featuring everything from illustration to PHP development projects. And if you’ve got time after all that – let us know what you think.
Some New Additions…
As if launching a brand new website wasn’t exciting enough we’ve welcomed another talented new addition to the Digital Marketing Team this month. We would like to introduce you to Teri our new PPC and Social expert.
Joining us from a diverse and exciting client and agency background, with a healthy obsession for results and reaching new audiences, Teri brings to the team a wealth of expertise in paid search across all platforms.
The insidiously additive Pac-Man has also joined the Fanatic team and it was love at first bite.
The game’s been generating some healthy competition in the office and through hard work and sheer determination Radek has earned the accolade of being the current top scorer. But he has a way to go until he achieves the perfect score of 3333360 points. Keep a keen eye on our blog to see if he retains his Pac-Man crown.
Pac-Man Fact Alert – In 1999, the dextrous video game champion Billy Mitchell was the first person to achieve a perfect score in “Pac-Man.” His ability to reach the end of the game even stumped “Pac-Man’s” creators and designers, who named him the “video game player of the century.”
ERT Goes Live
We’ve been working with The European Round Table for Industry (ERT) on a new distinctive website to further elevate their market and thought leadership position.
The newly created website has been designed to support ERT in promoting competitiveness and prosperity in Europe with a smooth and uncomplicated new user experience. We’ve shaken off the old functionally and replaced it with a combination of cutting edge performance techniques and visual storytelling bringing to life a new creative direction.
The website provides enhanced content and improved navigation in order to give visitors a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of ERT’s services and expertise.
Interested in finding out more. Check out their new website here.
Image credit: Google.
One of Google’s biggest updates for 5 years was announced last month and unlike other updates BERT isn’t focused on penalization. Instead, it’s focused on understanding search intent better.
What does this mean for websites? It’s really exciting and reinforces the value of creating content that answers the questions of your target audiences. Content at its best should be natural, authentic and informative.
Again and again we’re asked is copywriting dead? And the short answer is ‘no’. A recent ‘Advert on a bus’ from Brewdog described as the most ‘honest’ ad you’ll ever see (mostly by Brewdog) seemed to suggest it might be and that content was just visual filler. Comprising of a picture and the simple tag ‘ADVERT’ it was praised as ‘a testament to the power of simplicity’ (mostly by Brewdog).
While some thought it clever and subversive, there were some negative reviews and feedback calling it lazy and unoriginal. So, while simplicity is powerful, content that lacks nuance, complexity, subtlety may not always hit the mark and make an emotional and human connection with your audience.
This update is a great opportunity to experiment and test different types of content to find the right message that resonates with your audience. It might be one word, but as BERT looks at the content before and after a word to understand its relevance, this means that you need to focus on clear and well composed content. The more you do, the more you’ll learn, and the more tailored your content can become.
It’s been 10 years in the making and we’ve been counting down the days and airing our wetsuits in anticipation.
The Wave Bristol has now officially opened and some of our team members (check out Ryan’s skills pictured above) have already been lucky enough to give it a go. With the surfing lake generating a new wave every 8-10 seconds we’ve got our fingers crossed that they’ll be some surf sessions vouchers in our stockings this Christmas (hint).