"Content has to be created specifically for the web. It can't be taken from an offline brochure because people read things differently online," says Rolls-Royce's internet manager, Daniel Box.
Rolls-Royce engines power everything from combat aircraft to cruise ships, but people still associate the firm with cars. The power systems provider's Daniel Box tells Richard Jolley how the firm is trying to alter perceptions of the brand online.
Let us hope that Henry Royce and Charles Rolls, founders of Rolls-Royce, were understanding fellows. Because less than 100 years after the company was founded as a UK luxury car manufacturer, it is working hard to break free from its association with four-wheeled opulence and Britishness, especially as it now operates in more than 30 countries.
Rolls-Royce sold its motor cars division to defence group Vickers in the 70s. The arm was sold on in 1998 to Volkswagen, which has since sold the brand name to BMW for £40 million. Now, as Rolls-Royce celebrates what looks likely to be a record year for sales, with figures hitting £6.3 billion in preliminary results for 2001, it has decided to use the internet to drive home the message that when you think of Rolls-Royce, you should think not of Silver Ghosts and the aristocracy, but of the aerospace, energy and marine sectors on a global scale.
The company already has two business-to-business sites. Aeromanager (www.aeromanager.com) targets aerospace customers and energymanager-online.com (www.energymanager-online.com) is designed for energy customers. The two sites are run separately from the main Rolls-Royce site (www.rolls-royce.com), but they are influencing design across the board as the company ploughs a six-figure sum into revamping its corporate site, which it claims attracts more than one million page views a month.
Rolls-Royce is toying with the idea of scrapping the corporate site altogether, in favour of dedicated microsites for each of its divisions. Three microsites will launch in June, covering the company's activities in the US, Germany and Singapore. The sites are being created by London branding agency Bland Consulting. A close eye will be kept on users' reactions to the microsites, and this information will be compared with data related to how the revamped corporate site is received.
"It could lead to a full review of what we're doing in terms of developing individual sites to represent different parts of the company, rather than having one central site,
says Daniel Box, internet manager at Rolls-Royce.
Despite being microsites, the web offerings will each host between 20 and 50 pages of content, owing to the sheer volume of information available about Rolls-Royce's involvement in these areas. There will also be a multiple language option. To create a feeling of inclusiveness, communication teams in each region are involved in the sites' development, including the decision about which languages the sites should be offered in. For the US, this includes French.
Box is a fan of the microsite approach. He feels that they allow a greater individual focus that isn't always possible with large corporate sites.
Sam Court, business intelligence director at Bland Consulting, agrees.
"Microsites allow you to put a greater emphasis on specific areas of a business - in Rolls-Royce's case, its regional operations. Regional teams can make changes to content on the microsites,
he explains. "We've been careful not to put technology above design on the sites. Too many companies put technology first, which leads to constraints on aesthetics and design."
Court and his team are creating a template around which each microsite will be based, which will make it easy to roll out further regional microsites should they prove successful.
The microsites will be more targeted than the company's corporate site, and more like its business-to-business sites.
The corporate site revamp is due for completion in September. It will see the introduction of premium content for registered users, which in turn should enable the company to drive traffic to the site through SMS alerts and emails. Once it has driven people to the site, it will aim to convince them that Rolls-Royce is a company of the 21st century, and not one that is stuck in the early-20th century.
"The revamp will aim to combat the misconception that we are a car company,
says Box. "We also want to highlight the fact that we are not just a British firm any more. We are now a worldwide operator. It is important to get that message across, especially when we are trying to win business in places such as the US."
The design and navigation of the new-look site will aim to communicate clearly Rolls-Royce's core areas of activity. "The three initial microsites will reflect our core operations, but at the same time, focus on our activities in specific regions,
says Box.
The developments signify a change in attitude at Rolls-Royce about the importance of the internet. "The web is no longer seen as simply a different medium for communication, but as the primary medium,
explains Box. This became apparent in the aftermath of 11 September. Rolls-Royce's key status in the aerospace business meant that industry watchers were anxious to learn how the company was faring following the attacks on the World Trade Center.
The company posted a statement on the home page of its site warning that 5,000 of its 43,500 global workforce would be made redundant following an immediate downturn in business. The announcement was also posted in the site's Investor section. It was not good news, but Rolls-Royce was at least able to control how the news was heard. It was able to make sure that its customers heard it immediately.
"The number of visits to the site on that day were three times the average for the month,
says Box. "Traffic to the Investor e section for the month increased by 50 per cent. The statement definitely grew awareness of our web site. It also opened a few eyes to the fact that people are turning to the internet as a primary way of getting information about the company."
According to Box, the existing site was founded on only a vague understanding of what the internet is capable of. It was created in 1996, and was a knee-jerk reaction to the publicity surrounding this new technology. "It was launched largely so that we had a web site up there alongside those of the other FTSE 100 companies,
he explains.
The site was redesigned in-house at the beginning of 2001, but Box feels that not enough was changed at this stage. "The reaction wasn't fantastic within the company,
he admits. "A lot of people questioned whether it was a big enough improvement on the existing site. Some were surprised at the changes. Many felt they should have been more involved."
It is difficult to create a web site that gets backing right across such a large company. Box's appointment to the new post of internet manager is intended to change that. With six years of experience in the internet industry, mostly on the agency side, his new role focuses on the client side of the business.
The stakes are high, as this puts him in control of what is effectively a shop window for a massive global organisation.
Within the aerospace business, both civil and defence, Rolls-Royce offers products such as jet engines, and lists more than 500 airlines as its clients as well as 160 armed forces. In the energy market, it lists turbines and engines among its product offering. In the marine sector, it supplies engines and machinery for both naval and commercial clients. "Our products and services are incredibly diverse,
says Box. "You can see why we need a lot of information on our site."
The amount of information the company must offer online puts pressure on the site's architecture. For Box, this is frustrating. He would like to see fewer sections on the home page, for example, and has already started working toward this.
The home page was given a new look six months ago by London agency MGA Advertising, which has also worked for BAE Systems and Airbus Europe and is carrying out the redevelopment work for the Rolls-Royce corporate site.
Latest news releases have been added, and the company's share price runs from a live feed from Reuters and is updated 20 times a day. Users are also given direct access to streamed video and the site has a cleaner look.
Since February, in the lead-up to the site's next overhaul, Box has been collecting feedback from home page visitors within the company and through external focus groups.
"We don't have the level of site user understanding that we should have,
he admits. "In the past, the site has behaved like a brochure, as a one-way communication channel, but we want to work toward creating a dialogue with users to find out what they think and then make any necessary changes."
Box is keen to make the run-up to the forthcoming changes as inclusive as possible. "A big focus with this redevelopment is to secure the active involvement from the marketing and communications teams throughout all areas of Rolls-Royce across the globe,
he explains.
This inclusive approach will extend to creating a content management system that decentralises the ability to upload site information.
"Our global network of PR consultants and communication managers will be able to upload press releases and other media content, such as images and video,
says Box. The availability of streamed video on the site is an area that Box is keen to develop. He thinks video can offer a great user experience. "It makes the company more human,
he says.
The roll-out of more streamed video on the revamped site will coincide with the addition of premium content. Both form part of Box's drive to find out more about the site's users by getting them to register for receipt of restricted content.
Registration will be free and will give access to editorial, such as features on the company. "We hope registration will be a way for us to use push mechanisms such as text alerts,
says Box. In practice, this could lead to phone prompts and emails about company statements and changes to the site.
Overall, Box reckons Rolls-Royce is at an early stage in terms of its internet development, but adds that by the end of the year it will be significantly further forward in its use of the internet than it has been so far. "We are continually learning exactly what the internet can do for us as a company,
he says.
B2B SITE FINDINGS WILL BE APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE SITE
Energymanager-online.com was launched last October and has since attracted 225 registered users. It offers quotations, equipment orders and technical support online.
Aeromanager was also launched last October. It has signed up 71 organisations, including Cathay Pacific and Britannia airlines. Similar to energymanager-online.com, the site offers technical support and spare-parts ordering.
It also enables customers to check the progress of repair work the firm is carrying out for them.
"The ability to deliver flexible after-market services is a key part of our long-term business strategy,
says John Cheffins, president of civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce. "Aeromanager.com reflects our ongoing investment in new technology."
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