The Spring Newsletter - Coming of Age: Maturity Matters

For the last few months the Transform team has spent a lot of time thinking about maturity and the fact that while some things benefit from being new and fresh, others get better with age, like good wine, cheddar cheese and compost (well it's spring and some of the team are really serious about gardening!). Having just launched the Digital Maturity Index 2011; a research report that looks at how digital channels are developing in organisations across the UK, it seems the challenges of online are still real and present for many of our clients.

So in recognition of the DMI 2011, a measure of digital channel maturity, we're sharing some of the report's headline statistics with a few topical items thrown in for good measure. I hope you find the topics below of interest and I look forward to hearing what you think.

1. When you're sociable there's always something to celebrate

As Twitter marks its 5th birthday, the quirky concept of conveying a message in no more than 140 characters has now, rather aptly, resulted in 140 million tweets being posted per day. Here are some of our favourite twitter stats complete with the compulsory hashtag (which had its debut in August 2007):

• Lady GaGa may have only posted a mere 670 tweets but she is the most followed person on the site with almost 9,000,000 followers #lazytweeter
• In March, Charlie Sheen set a Guinness World Record for the fastest time to reach 1m followers but when it comes to cool, the Dalai Lama wins hand down; he has 1.5m followers but he follows no-one #thatswinning
• Almost 200m people are now twitter users and their collective tweets amount to 20 terabytes of data; the equivalent of 2560 DVDs, 5 million photos (at 4 meg each) and more than 6.5 million songs #howcan140characterstakeupsomuchspace

2. It's all about the money

Not all things age well.

If you've got a £5 note in your purse or wallet, chances are it's looking pretty grubby. With a lifespan of just one year, compared to a £50 note which averages five years, only 3% of the 249 million fivers in circulation are dispensed via a cash machine because they're in such poor condition. This is mainly due to the fact that once they're in circulation they stay in circulation, getting tattier and more germ laden as they go.

But fear not, if you covet a crisp five pound note then all is not lost. The Bank of England has stated that there is a strategy in place to improve the quantity and quality of notes available to consumers. If you've received one from a cash point recently drop me an email at bill.james@betransformative.com or post it to me and I'll check it meets cash machine Q.A. standards!

3. Diamonds are pear shaped but not apple cut (until now)

Love it or hate it the iPad continues to steal a march in the tablet market. And as the first generation device reaches maturity, the launch of the iPad 2 has resulted in even bigger queues outside retail stores than when its older sibling came to market last year. Apple remains quiet about the actual volumes sold but retailers in the UK are reporting that the device is in short supply with many not expecting new stock until April 25th.

But if you're not tempted by the standard design, how about this iPad2 that's been 75 million years in the making? British designer Stuart Hughes has wrapped the device in the oldest form of ammolite gemstone as well as including shavings from a T-Rex bone. He's plated the back in 24 carat gold, encrusted the apple logo with 53 flawless diamonds and fitted an 8.5 carat flawless diamond to the home button, surrounded by 12 more diamonds. Bling, bling. And the cost? A snip at £5m.

4. "When you're 5, healthy is fun and games...

...when you're 75, it's keeping your mind active as well as your body".

That's just one of the ads promoting Bupa's new marketing campaign 'Helping you find healthy'.

Since its inception in the 1940s the company has sought to keep up with a changing consumer and that now includes a radical shift to digital channels.

We were delighted to work with Bupa on its online strategy which forms a core part of business planning in 2010/2011. Transform validated Bupa's eCommerce capabilities, created a cross-functional steering group and a roadmap framework for departments to deliver the 3 year plan. Our sister company, WCRS&Co, was responsible for developing the new ad campaign and Transform continues to work with Bupa on further developments; read more about how we helped Bupa to 'find healthy' by embracing digital channels.

5.    I Kate, take thee ...

No self respecting April 2011 newsletter could fail to mention the forthcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

For many of us the fact that we only have to take 3 days leave at the end of the month to have an 11 day holiday can bring a smile to even the most ardent anti-royalist. But that's not the only wedding related activity that's had the Transform team grinning from ear to ear.

As with all Royal weddings, the memorabilia production machine has gone into overdrive with everything from tea towels to thimbles to life-size Lego figures now bearing images of the prince and his future bride. But one overseas company failed to check if they had the right prince on their mug so congratulations it seems must now also go to Prince Harry and his bride-to-be, Kate Middleton.

If the company sells any of these, and it's a certainty they will, they definitely deserve a high-five!

6.    On your marks, get set..... but are you ready to go?

There may have been a few teething problems with the Olympic clock in Trafalgar Square (which stopped working the day after it was unveiled) but the completion of the Olympic Stadium, ahead of schedule and under budget, is a major win for the 2012 organising committee.

A workforce of over 5,000 people from 240 British companies were responsible for building what is without doubt an impressive structure and demonstrates that London remains fully on track for the opening ceremony next year.

With this in mind we hosted a 'Get ready for 2012' event at Engine last week to share key lessons with businesses that are looking to embrace the amazing opportunity the games offer. If you'd like to know more about the output from our event drop me an email and I'd be delighted to speak to you about it.

The Transform competition

In our last newsletter we asked you to identify the song titles contained in each section and after placing all the correct entries in a festive Santa hat, the winner was Chris Tyler from Home Retail Group. Chris is now the proud owner of an iNotePad...not quite as interactive as an iPad but at least it doesn't need charging. Well done Chris.

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning this quarter's prize, a box of 6 personalised cupcakes from Laura's Little Bakery, sent to either your home or office, all you have to do is email me to tell me the one thing that each of our six news items has in common. Good luck and we'll announce the winner in our next newsletter.

Our New Blog

And finally, our new blog site is now up and running: http://channel-shift.com/. It's a forum for sharing the latest news and taking a look at the challenges and opportunities of getting customer transactions to the right channels for both the benefit of your business and its customers. Have a look and let me know your thoughts. In fact, we're on the lookout for guest bloggers so drop me a line if you'd like to get involved.

Wishing you and your families a Happy Easter.