IoIC North Awards 2011

Our first award was an Award of Excellence in the Design Category for the HMS Astute Commissioning Book we produced for BAE Systems with the judges stating that we demonstrated how to spend a handsome budget to best effect, producing an effective design which enhanced the reader experience, delivering a document which will stand the test of time.

Our subsequent awards were both in the Website/Intranet Category and we took an Award of Excellence for the Astute Class Website produced for BAE Systems due to the judges being impressed with the interactivity it offered the end user.

We also received the prestigious Class Winner for the website we developed for Stafford & Rural Homes, the judges deemed that it was a great example of what can be achieved when great content, easy to follow design and interactivity are successfully combined which is quite an accolade.

Collecting the Website Class Winner award for Stafford & Rural Homes

Once again we are honored to have had our work recognised by the Institute of Internal Communications and would like to congratulate everyone involved in each project.

The Awards

HMS ASTUTE Commissioning Book

Class 6: Design
HMS Astute Commissioning Book for BAE Systems and The Royal Navy

Class 13: Special Publications
HMS Astute Commissioning Book for BAE Systems and The Royal Navy

Class 17a: Website/Intranet
Stafford & Rural Homes Website

Class17a: Website/Intranet
Astute Class Submarine Website for BAE Systems

Liz Douglas who is the North Region Director of the IoIC states that ‘these awards look for those communicators whose work is absolutely critical to the success of the organisation for which they work and who operate with skill, flair and creativity’ so just to be shortlisted is quite an accolade, so well done to all involved in each project.

Stafford and Rural Homes Website

The Awards Dinner is on Thursday 29th September at the Leeds Marriott Hotel so keep your fingers crossed we are victorious on the night!

Our approach to building websites has evolved as we have made the leap across to HTML5 and CSS3 for all our websites. Following a ‘Hardboiled‘ approach, we can create responsive websites which are appropriately crafted to match the capabilities of each browsers and device. This means people using contemporary web browsers get the best possible experience, whilst users of older, out of date browsers still receieve an experience which is suitable for their browser.

These techniques can be seen in some of our recent lauches:

Stafford & Rural Homes - Relaunch

Hawkswells' PureDales

Arcadia Tiles

Merlin Claims - Relaunch

The Kitty

Astute Class

We also supplied the design and front-end build for the new Liverpool Womens Hospital website:

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust

Work is now well underway on a number of other exiting projects which will be launching in the very near future. Follow us on Twitter (@forepoint) or like our Facebook page to be kept up to date on all our website launches.

Actually, if truth be told we signed up on a bit of a whim, it sounded interesting, we fancied doing something different, we could raise a bit for charity, add in a bit of team-building, that sort of thing. It is only since we have been training for a few months that the full implication and meaning of the Trek has sunk in.

In the mists of Rivington

The Oxfam TrailTrekker is a 101.5km (63 miles) non-stop trek around the Yorkshire Dales which has to be completed in teams of four and within 30 hours. I don’t know how we managed to convince eight people to take part, but we did. And then, on training walks, the reality began to creep in… it was going to be very long, very hard and very painful!

Another hill...

The route on the day(s!) will be punctuated by Water Stops and Checkpoints where we will be able to refill our drink bottles and food supplies. Our Support Crew, made up of three of Forepoint’s best, will also ensure that we have everything we need in the way of spare clothing, nibbles, treats and it has to be said – painkillers!

One thing you have plenty of on a long distance walk is time to think and this can be both a blessing and a curse – let your spirits flag when you’re getting weary and your thoughts can sink you faster than a torpedo. On the other hand, it can give you time to consider why you are putting yourself through all the blisters, sweat and tears. In the beginning for me it was personal; I wanted to get fit, lose weight, and get back out onto the hills and mountains that I’d loved to walk in my teens and early twenties, but that has now changed.

Oxfam has told us that the money we raise will go directly into disaster response, helping to aid those whose lives have been turned up-side-down by earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters. It can often be hard to empathize with people suffering when they are thousands of miles away, the horrors sanitized by the television screen. However, when the Earthquake hit Japan, in March, I contacted a cousin of mine who’d been working out there to see if any of his colleagues had been affected. Fortunately, no one from the office had been directly hurt, but some of them were having, because the transport infrastructure had been destroyed, to walk up to 40km home to see if their loved ones were still alive. This struck a chord with me. Here we were feeling very noble about walking for charity when people, just like us, had no alternative but to walk huge distances under much, much worse conditions. How would we feel? How would we cope in that situation?

So, whilst we have been getting many plaudits for taking on what will, undoubtedly, be one of the toughest challenges of our lives, it is the difference that the money we raise will make that will be the most meaningful.

If you’d like to support us please got to one of our fundraising  pages:

http://www.justgiving.com/ForepointTeams
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/forepointteams

Astute class website - Design Section

We were honoured to have been chosen to produce the website for the Astute class submarine programme, in order to showcase the advanced technical capability of BAE Systems and the skills and expertise of their staff, contractors and supply chain. The design and content of the site was based initially on the award winning publication, Astute Exit Barrow, which was previously produced for BAE Systems Submarine Solutions. The site itself is to be continually updated and enhanced to run in parallel with the ongoing development of the Astute class programme.

Astute class website - Holding page

We led from the front on the development and management of the project, working closely with BAE Systems in defining the strategy, goals and objectives to launch and also the social media awareness strategy, in order to drive traffic to the site whilst the countdown holding page was live. This enabled subscribers to register and receive progress updates to the launch of the microsite and the Ambush roll-out event. One day into launch and we have already received rave reviews both internally within BAE Systems and externally via Twitter. The stats speak for themselves, visits are on the up and visitors are spending time navigating around the site.

Astute class website - Take a tour

The site has been developed using the latest emerging web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3. This has allowed us to produce a responsive website that is not constrained by the limits of older browsers and delivers an appropriate user experience to any browser or device. Users of contemporary web browsers such as Chrome or Safari will receive a significantly enhanced user experience, which fully exploits the advantages of technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3.

Astute Facts in IE6 and Safari

This ‘Hardboiled’ approach to development is clear throughout the site, more so in the more interactive areas of the site. For example in the ‘Astute Facts’ section users of contemporary web browsers such as Chrome or Safari get an experience which is appropriate for their browser which utilities the latest CSS3 properties such as transforms and transition to create a slick 3D interface allowing users to flick through the different fact cards on an infinitive carousel. Users of older browsers are presented with a simpler slider as their browsers aren’t capable of rendering the more advanced CSS3 properties such as transforms or transitions. CSS3 has been used throughout to enhance other areas in simple ways; such as the 404 error page, which makes use of CSS3 animations to animate the radar.

Astute class website - Email Updates

The awards ceremony was held at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate, and once again proved a great success for Forepoint, BAE Systems Submarine Solutions and the Astute Brochure.

Congratulations to the CIPR for hosting such a prestigious and successful event and also to everyone shortlisted across the 24 categories and in particular to our fellow award winners.

See the PRide Award shortlist

CIPR PRide Awards 2010 Silver Winner

The CIPR Pride Awards recognise excellence in PR and communications across the UK and we are extremely honored that our work has been recognised by the Institute at the North West event.

We are currently developing an Astute Class microsite on behalf of BAE Systems and you can register your interest in the Astute Class programme by visiting www.astuteclass.com where you can register for notifications and updates.

Astute Brochure – Awards:

• Silver: CIPR North West Pride Award 2010
• Class Winner: CiB North Awards 2010

Also developed for BAE Systems Submarine Solutions:

• HMS Astute Commissioning Book
• Astute Class Microsite

CIPR Pride Awards 2010

The CIPR PRide Awards have grown in strength and stature, recognising public relations success and achievement in the nations and regions.

• There were over 1,221 plus entries UK-wide this year.
• Being shortlisted – even better winning one – is proof to your colleagues and clients that your work has been judged to be among the best in the UK – and is a great morale booster for your team.
• The CIPR PRide Awards is the only awards scheme which showcases the best PR work being carried out across the UK regions and nations and sets industry standards.
• The judging process is rigorous with a national panel of industry experts assessing the shortlisted entries and choosing the winners. For 2010 we appointed two Chairs of Judges, Alison Clarke and Chris Genasi, who will resolve any disputes and help ensure a fair and consistent judging process.
• Sponsors for the 2010 PRide Awards are as follows:
  • Headline sponsors are media intelligence company Precise
  • PRWeek are the National Media sponsors
  • Goddard Gadd, Redbrand and Xchangeteam are also national sponsors

Dave Sanders, Chair of CIPR North West, said: “The CIPR PRide Awards recognise and reward the thriving PR profession from across the UK. They help to celebrate the importance of demonstrating the value of what we, as public relations professionals, do and the positive impact this profession has on all aspects of business. Being named as a CIPR PRide Award winner is a fantastic achievement and I congratulate all of this year’s winners.”

Astuteclass.com Holding Page

You can register your interest in the Astute Class programme and microsite by visting the holding page and entering your email address in order to subscribe for notifications and updates.

iPhone screen shot of bookmark icon

The microsite once live will offer a vast amount of information about the Astute Class programme and its development, with interesting facts, great photography, videos, interviews and the ability to take a tour of one of the most advanced attack submarines in the world.

Facts about HMS Astute

• She is 97 metres from bow to stern.
• She has a beam of 11.2 metres.
• She displaces 7,400 tonnes of seawater.
• Her cabling and pipework would stretch from Glasgow to Dundee.
• She is the first Royal Navy submarine not to have a traditional periscope, instead using electro-optics to capture a 360-degree image of the surface for subsequent analysis by the commanding officer.
• Astute is the first submarine to have an individual bunk for each crew member.
• She manufactures her own oxygen from seawater as well as her own drinking water.
• She could theoretically remain submerged for her 25-year life, if it were not for the need to restock the crew’s food supplies.
• She is faster under the water than she is on the surface – capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots (37km/h), although her top speed is classified.

Rear Admiral Simon Lister, Director of Submarines, who oversees the build programme of the class for the MOD, said:

“To my mind Astute is a 7,000 tonne Swiss watch. There is an extraordinary amount of expertise that goes into putting one of these submarines together. There are stages when it’s like blacksmithing and there are stages when it’s like brain surgery.”

HMS ASTUTE Commissioning Book

As the book was a dual commission from both BAE Systems Submarine Solutions and the Royal Navy, with the perception of neutral ownership, we were able to push the boundaries in terms of design interpretation, paying homage to, rather than adhering to each set of brand guidelines, in creating this quality production piece. The book was required to feature the ‘Commissioning Order’ as well as an official endorsement from Clarence House, and detail, the development process, the build programme, the boats performance and capability through to the entire ship’s company and the story so far from its initial exit from Barrow back in November 2009, through its sea trials to the formal commission ceremony.

HMS ASTUTE Commissioning Book

The book itself was case bound, with the cover produced using a Colorplan stock, with gold and white foil blocking to the outer cover, to reinforce the prestigious nature of the publication and also the celebration of this first of class submarine. A select number of special edition books were also produced with a personalised signature sheet and slipcase that mirrored the book cover. The inner pages were printed using both full-colour process, and special inks, in order to retain an accurate colour match and consistency to the outer cover stock and end leaves.

We were honoured to have received acclaim for the quality of the publication from dignitaries and crew at the commissioning ceremony, and are very proud to have been a part of this momentous event in celebrating the commissioning of the most technologically advanced submarine in the world.

Facts about HMS Astute

• She is 97 metres from bow to stern.
• She has a beam of 11.2 metres.
• She displaces 7,400 tonnes of seawater.
• Her cabling and pipework would stretch from Glasgow to Dundee.
• She is the first Royal Navy submarine not to have a traditional periscope, instead using electro-optics to capture a 360-degree image of the surface for subsequent analysis by the commanding officer.
• Astute is the first submarine to have an individual bunk for each crew member.
• She manufactures her own oxygen from seawater as well as her own drinking water.
• She could theoretically remain submerged for her 25-year life, if it were not for the need to restock the crew’s food supplies.
• She is faster under the water than she is on the surface – capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots (37km/h), although her top speed is classified.

Rear Admiral Simon Lister, Director of Submarines, who oversees the build programme of the class for the MOD, said:

“To my mind Astute is a 7,000 tonne Swiss watch. There is an extraordinary amount of expertise that goes into putting one of these submarines together. There are stages when it’s like blacksmithing and there are stages when it’s like brain surgery.”

The chosen design is the Easter edition of our very own E-Forecast designed by our creative director Ali Heggie (View the Easter edition). Our E-Forecast contains a round-up of all our latest work as well as the editions hot topic. You can subscribe to our E-Newsletter below.

As fervent supporters of Email campaigns, the reasons for which we blogged about back in February in  New Year, New Campaign, we are really pleased by this news and would urge you to show your support by taking the time to vote for our design.

To do so, you can ‘Like’ our design on facebook. (You may need to ‘Like’ the Sign-Up Technology page first for your vote to count.)

We feel our new website both articulates and strengthens our vision and values perfectly whilst demonstrating that both Guardianship and Innovation come to life in the hands of our people.

This simple, defined message shows we are friendly, helpful and reliable. We care, and we’re great to work with. We take a truly consultative approach and are able to understand the priorities and objectives of our clients, especially those that have to satisfy the requirements of multiple stakeholders. We deliver design communications that meets their criteria.

Our ultimate strength is our ability to produce exactly what is needed to protect and build brands.