UK Advisory Network - website

Background

The UK Advisory Network increases the information available to companies wishing to expand and also enables members to share knowledge and important market information. This Network consists of third party organisations which can support foreign companies looking to invest in the UK and UK companies wanting to expand into overseas markets.

Client brief and objectives

UKAN’s core objectives formed the brief and they are:

• Enriched partnership working between Government and private sector for the delivery and retention of high quality Inward Investment in the UK and commitment to assist the growth and expansion of UK companies overseas
• Delivery of consistent marketing messages and commitment to collaborative working when supporting both Trade and Investment
• Collaboration to establish and maintain an understanding of the UK’s competitive position in both trade and investment
• Forum for feedback to UKTI by partners on issues that are affecting investment decisions both in the UK and elsewhere
• Smoother and seamless transfer between Government and private sector support

The agency was asked to create a portal website that would display directories of members in three distinct categories – inward investment, international trade and overseas support.

It was important that the site presented a network which comprises companies selected against a set of stringent acceptance criteria, with an appropriate level of impartiality. This is a Government project, but the suppliers (members) are assessed and - in some cases - approved for membership by the agency, not the Government.

Strategy implementation

• We built a database-driven site, which clearly differentiates between the three main categories
• Information within each category is presented in a user friendly way – broken down by sector and fully searchable, providing an easy means of contact with members
• We also created a members extranet so that members can update their own profiles online and to facilitate the sharing of information and articles/documents of professional interest with each other and the sharing of information with members by UKTI.

Results

• Since the site was launched in January 2009, there have been over 100 applications to join the Network through the site, resulting in 17 new additions to the Network
• This is not a high volume traffic website due to the nature of its content but it does receive 53% of its traffic from search engines as it is so well optimised
• The website currently has 133 overseas companies and 96 inward investment members

Client testimonial

Mike Harvey at UKTI said: “The agency team have consistently demonstrated their ability to handle complicated projects for UKTI that involve a variety of private and public sector organisations all with a range of requirements.

“They work quickly and effectively to ensure that a project’s momentum is maintained whilst simultaneously balancing the needs of the partners. The agency combines impressive technical knowledge with outstanding project management to deliver excellent solutions.”