Key words : web design , multimedia,
on-Line branding, information architecture
Skills used: graphic design, flash
web interfaces, illustration,
Background
In 2001, CAL - one of the biggest Israeli credit cards
companies (issuer of VISA, Diners and MasterCard) - was about to change
its brand entirely.
A new law allowing all credit card companies to issue all credit cards,
has turned this market segment upside down, and caused many changes that
these companies had to face.
The brand change was part of a strategic plan that meant to keep the loyalty
of CAL's existing customers, while acquiring new potential
clients.
The New brand
Enriching the individual's
possibilities
Smart
choice
Credible
and accurate
Enables
the "good life"
No
limits!
Shifting online
To create the online brand we outlined
the company's goals and expectations from its online activity,
defined the site's users and their needs, used the new brand's
definition and built CAL's online presence accordingly.
Position the company
as a credible financial institute
Expose
CAL's new brand
Attract
new customers
Expand
the brand experience to the web
Create
emotional link to the brand (the company)
Provide
a local alternative to the international brand
Potential users
CAL credit card owners
(looking for ways to monitor their activities, learn about benefits
they can get from the company, looking for information)
Competitors'
credit card owners (Looking for information, comparing CAL
to their current company)
Users
range in their computer literacy levels (from computer savvy
to novice users)
Our solution
Structure
We designed the CAL website as a meta-site that contained 4 components:
Main CAL's website
This corporate site provided the user support in this brand change.
The user could read about the change, benefits and instructions for
farther action. It also contained messages which increased the user's
reassurance on the brand and tried to convey the promise embodied
in the new brand.
Credit card sites (Visa, Diners, MasterCard)
Cal's sub brands provided unique attributes in their content.
Their look and feel was changed and redesigned to look as part
of cal, with minor color changes. Each brand provided different
information and offers which suited its audiences and values.
Visa approached the family in general, and aimed to expand and
change the family life style by offering wider financial capabilities.
Diners aimed to the 40+ year old community, and offered entrance
for "members
only" leisure club. MasterCard dealt with the practical values
of the card and daily activities such as shopping and bill
payments. The differentiation remained mostly by context. Our
image selection fro each brand tried to unify and bring them
all towards Cal's identity.
Monetary tools and services where the users
can perform actions in their account, supplying current customers
with meaningful and useful ways to handle their monetary issues,
and assessing the company's credibility. These services included "Safe cal" software, "Cal
Direct", Personal status monitor etc.
Promotional and Proactive features that would
enhance and strengthen the link between the company and its customers.
These features include: newsletters, presentations, downloadable screen
savers and more
Appearance
The visual guidelines we set conveyed
the "No limits" and "Enriching
the individual" concepts. A unique approach to the corporate
portal was created to reflect the uniqueness of the company.
The screen was treated as a limitless space, without definite borders, where
navigational and content elements are juxtaposed on its surface, creating various
compositions, which implied on the extensive opportunities the customer has when
using CAL's credit cards.
Brand enhancers (3) Enhance trust: use "real world" insignia to
support online credibility.
All the home pages contained Cal's brands stamp to assure the user that there's
a real, respected company behind this site.
Teasers and promotions: (2)
We have supplied Cal's
site with a section where they could announce important marketing
information
As dynamic
graphic teasers for the main promotion event
As a textual
form, revolving upwards for the rest.
Promotional banners, both in flash and other technologies, were
added through out the site.
Cal's navigational system (3)
Putting method to the madness, we devised the goal-oriented
navigation system, which remained consistent all over the
site.
This system included the top bar , side bar and icons (which
used the square element from the logo).
The top bar is used for general tasks and navigating
between the different brand's mini sites - which was not a common
task. Its secondary use was to remind the user of the brand's presence
and retain their trust in the brand.
The side bar is the actions bar. It contained each
brand's marketing and promotional information as
well as Cal's "Online services" section.
The side bar slides down and opens to present the relevant links, every time
the user chooses a category.
Cal's "Online services" is the marketing tool for promoting
the different online programs (such as credit payment, credit reports), and is
frequently used to view new and upcoming campaigns.
From "Cal on line" the user can also enter directly to online
services.
Example of an inner page
The inner content pages maintained the same look & feel and the
rectangles/ No boundaries motive continued.
Cal's Sub brands
A separate website was created for each card type, assuring
that each customer can find his or hers private place within
the site.
Each brand had its unique attributes within the general brand. That was
clearly shown at the proportions between the Cal and its sub brands logos
as well as using components that were identical all over the site.
Each brand had its own teasers and information section.
Visa's site
Visa's was the most
important of the sub brands' sites.
It had additional sales and marketing tools as well as various content areas,
which were aiming to support the brand shift.
Visa's imagery
leading motives were "dynamism" and "border crossing", conveying the notion
that Visa is everywhere, and is constantly on the move, to adjust
to the user's changing needs.
MasterCard's site
This site's aim was to introduce MasterCard
to new users. We tried to deliver the message that MasterCard's users
are winners, and with the help of their credit card they can achieve
any goal they set to themselves
Diner's home page
Dinners had to provide reassurance to
its users with excessive trust areas as well as promotional teasers.
As a "high class" credit card, Diners strategy was to display the good life and
promise a better, relaxed and luxurious future for its holders.
From "Cal on line" the user could also enter directly to online
services. Here are some examples of online services:
SafeCal software
This software's goal was to encourage Credit card holders to expand their e commerce
activities (which will increase Cal's revenue).
The software provided unique number to each e commerce transaction
and by that solved the problem of providing real credit card number
in e commerce transactions and protected the card holders.
Our design was highly functional and customer-oriented. The concept was to resemble
a credit card in its look, and thus imply on the application's functionality.
The application's appearance took after the look & feel of CAL's credit card.
The use was easy and intuitive, the application freed the users from the fear
of being cheated.
Trade rates increased, and CAL was able to give service that assess its credibility.
Personal status Monitor
This
tool enables the users to control their financial status via the
Internet.
As another aspect of Freedom is control over one's actions,
the users were able to view their Credit card status online, audit their
bills, and perform changes in their future debits.
Cal Direct: A money transfer application
Another important aspect of freedom (with regarding to money) is the ability
to spend it at will. The next service we designed was a money transfer
application called CAL Direct .
This program enabled the user to transfer cash from one credit card to
another credit card!
Promotional tools
We supplied CAL with numerous promotional tools in order to market itself
better to the online users' community.
Newsletters
Creating a sense of community and nourishing the feeling that CAL cares
about their customers, led us to the creation of this monthly newsletter.
Our goal was to promote new programs and ideas to Cal's customers, while
assessing CAL's brand.
We designed a clean and light look and feel, consistent with the site's
look & feel, and delivered the feeling of excitement.
Here are few examples:
Presentations
Promoting the use of Cal's tools was not limited to the web. Targeted presentations
were created and published to specific market segments, offering customized
services.
An example of that was the "Business card" presentation, sent to CFO's
around the country, displaying the benefits of its use in a sharp and straightforward
attitude.
Corporate screen savers
These screen savers were created as part of the process of implementing
the new brand within the company's employees.
It's content reflected the brand's main messages.
Tiltool | erez [at] tiltool.com | Interaction + Design
