It’s a delight to be writing this article on the new home for BIMA; our brand-new website.
In undertaking this project, we had two goals in mind: to create a site that befits our role as the membership association for British digital; and to simultaneously improve our internal processes with joined-up digital systems.
On the first of these goals, I’ll let you be the judge of whether we’ve succeeded and I look forward to hearing your feedback, both as the site stands today and in the weeks and months ahead as we continue to iterate and roll out more features.
From my own standpoint, I’m so pleased and grateful for the fantastic work that’s gone into this site from many quarters – more of which in a moment – and the immediate impact the new site is having on our standing in the eyes of those who are meeting BIMA for the first time online.
The sleek new homepage of bima.co.uk
Our organisation has evolved and grown in recent years: in terms of size but more importantly also in terms of the volume and quality of our deliverables. We needed a digital presence and brand identity that would keep pace with the new BIMA, and give our members an industry shop window to be proud of. Last year, we unveiled the new BIMA brand identity. The rebrand laid a foundation for a reinvigorated BIMA; and following the appointments of Co-Chairs Natalie Gross and Tarek Nseir and their unveiling of our 3-year strategy, our website relaunch has arrived at the perfect time.
I’m excited to see it come to life and for bima.co.uk to become the home of industry-leading thought leadership and a resource to find the best events in the industry.
As a BIMA member, you and your teams have full posting rights on the site, to share thought leadership, promote your events and position yourselves as the future-defining companies we know you to be.
We’ll also regularly select articles and events of note to feature on our homepage and across social, so please don’t be shy in letting us know if you spot an interesting piece that is deserving of a wider audience.
On the second of our goals, to achieve joined-up systems that save my team time and eliminate double-handling, this project is already realising efficiencies and giving us more space to concentrate on our members. We haven’t yet achieved everything we set out to do but we’re well on our way to a seamless customer journey through all stages of engagement with BIMA.
And for all of this – the extra time in our days, the beauty of our online presence and the positive benefits to our reputation, I have our partners to thank.
Firstly, we are indebted to Daniel and Matt Tweddle, founders of design studio Only, for the sleek and gorgeous design of our website and our accompanying brand identity. It has been a privilege to work with such a professional company and I’m continually impressed by the rigour of Only’s approach. Their commitment to truly understanding BIMA and our vision for the future has been evident at every stage of the design process.
The opportunity to realise their designs has been expertly handled by the team at Ngoar, who have worked tirelessly to bring us a site that will stand up to the attention of the whole industry. We’re grateful to Peter Meadows and his team not just for their workmanship but also their commitment to delivering a great product.
Our site is built on Sitecore and hosted by the wonderful team at Wirehive – both of whom have been a pleasure to work with and deliver customer service of the first order. You know you’re in safe hands when you can contact a company and have your problem resolved in a matter of moments with friendliness and good humour.
Speaking of Sitecore, my team and I found the impressive capabilities of the CMS daunting at first site but were quickly zipping around the back end and now positively love the power it puts in our hands!
The final company I’ll mention here – although there have been many more friends of BIMA involved along the way – is the team at Passion Digital who have helped ready the site for Go live from an SEO perspective. If you found us via a web search, then you have the good folks at Passion to thank.
So at risk of approaching TLDR status, I want to say one last and massive thank you to Only, Ngoar, Wirehive, Sitecore, Passion Digital and all who’ve helped along the way. I hope that you, our members, enjoy using this site and are as pleased as I am with the game-changing benefits its bringing to your BIMA experience.
My team and I would like to invite you to explore your new site. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be rolling out more features, all of which will be adding value to our growing list of member benefits.
Not a BIMA Member yet? We are the connectors, thought leaders, champions and change makers determining the shape of Britain’s digital economy, and we would love for you to join us on our mission to drive innovation and excellence across the digital industry. Join us today!