We have recently launched a new website for Euler Hermes UK. The website is the focal point for a new campaign which looks to raise awareness of credit insurance with Small to Medium Businesses.

If you are lucky enough to have your own business you will know all about the pressures in keeping your cash flow positive, especially for small businesses where should one large client fail to pay an invoice the consequences could lead to the downfall of your company through no real fault of your own. Let’s not forget it may not be a direct relationship either, a business at the top of the supply chain may fail, leading to companies along the supply chain unable to pay.

To help educate businesses we launched www.what-is-credit-insurance.co.uk, which does exactly what it says on the tin. The website includes easy to understand information on credit insurance, talks about the processes and even includes 3 free credit opinion checks.

If you’re interested in learning about Euler Hermes or how taking out credit insurance could help you visit www.what-is-credit-insurance.co.uk

Client Services Director, Tristan Morris and Account Manager, Martin Dixon will be enjoying a bottle of the best this weekend for their Birthdays.

On the 26th May 2012 a new European Directive comes into force. Although known commonly as the Cookie Law, it is in fact a piece of legislation that concentrates on any means of identifying or profiling a user by storing something directly on their browsing device.

From the 26th May, webmasters need to be open about the Cookies being stored on a users device and according to Directive 2002/58/EC “the requirements are that the subscriber or user of that terminal equipment -
a) is provided with a clear and comprehensive information about the purposes of the storage of, or access to, that information; and
b) has given his or her consent.”

The changes could have a dramatic affect to online businesses. Cookies are a critical part of a website and are relied upon for a number of practical purposes from remembering shopping basket information, log-in details, analytics to behavioural retargeting. In a recent survey with Econsultancy and Toluna Quick although there was a good understanding of Cookies only 23% said they would be happy to opt in to receiving cookies.

So How Do I Become Compliant and What Is Best Practice?

The Information Commissioner has admitted that they don’t know exactly what compliance will look like and much will depend on what happens when it start to enforce the EU e-Privacy Directive. In a recent Econsultancy white paper, Dave Evans, Group Manager, Business & Industry, ICO commented “we don’t know what compliance will look like in a year’s time”. Exactly what constitutes compliance is something that is far from set in stone at the moment.

Dave Evans also commented “if a company’s revenue would drop if it went for opt-in, then we could look at different ways of educating users and gaining consent. Just because analytics cookies are caught by this law doesn’t mean a strict opt-in is necessary”.

The first part of becoming compliant is to have a clear, transparent evaluation of how you are currently using cookies. Looking at ICO’s guidance this is to:
- Conduct an audit of cookie usage on your website
- Determine the intrusiveness of each of those cookies
- From there choose an appropriate consent mechanism based on how intrusive they are

How you then implement the opt-in process has currently been left in your hands with no best practice being shared from ICO. Here at One, depending on the Cookies being used, we have developed a number of different methods and we would work with you to safely implement these.

If you’re worried about the affect of the EU Cookie Law please contact Andy Wood (andy@onemcr.co.uk) and we will talk through the process with you.

I have been following with interest the development of Hockney’s work for his latest exhibition, A Bigger Picture, now on at the Royal Academy.

Besides various articles in the press and on the radio, there was a great programme on the BBC presented by Alan Yentob.

This documentary was put together by Bruno Wollheim and follows Hockney over 3 years, as the 70 year old re-invents his painting from scratch on his return from California, in his beloved Yorkshire. It shows the master at work in all weathers, producing the largest pictures ever made outdoors. It’s also an intimate portrait of what inspires Hockney in his later years. The DVD is available from the usual sources.

These works are now on display at the RA and is the hottest ticket in town (and is consequently top of my wish list). So, it was a bit of a hard pill to swallow, when my wife Jan announced that she, and two of her arty mates, were planning a day in London with lunch and then on to the RA.

“Great”, I said putting on my understanding face.

“Good” she said, “we’ve got tickets for this Saturday, so can you take Ava (our 14 year old) to her Hockey match?”

By all accounts, the exhibition lived up to expectations (although very busy), with the sketch book room a particular highlight. The hockey match didn’t quite reach the same heights, with Ava’s team losing 2:1 to a very useful side over in Chester.

I ended up with the smaller picture, a series of postcards.

Blog by Pete Johnston

As a trained art historian I browse museum websites on a regular basis and I’ve seen the quality of museum’s web presence improve dramatically over the past few years. I’ve come across two websites lately that impressed me with their design and functionality:

The Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam is located in the house where Anne Frank’s family went into hiding. In April 2010, at the museum’s 50th anniversary, a new website was launched including a The Secret Annex, an interactive Flash walkthrough through the hidden annex, which was a winner at the Webby Awards 2011. The website – built in a EPiServer CMS – has attracted 2.2 million visits in its first year, and visitors spent an impressive 17 minutes average time on site. Here’s why:

• Fully multilingual content (six languages)
• User defined content accessible through prominent header links (teachers, students)
• A very good mobile version
• Bright, clean template design with a clear navigation
• A nice feature is the citing from Anne’s diary each day from the same calendar day
• A timeline microsite filled with historical information, personal documents and videos about the Frank family
• A microsite with a flash walktrough through the hidden annex which displays the house now and during occupation
• Prominent social media integration

Another fine example is the Victoria and Albert Museum’s website, which launched a complete redesign in May 2011 powered by Squiz Matrix. The website received over 24.9 million visits in a year between 2010/2011, ranking as 2nd most visited museum and gallery website in the UK and 7th most visited in the world. It’s a rich portal to V&A’s vast collection:

• Clear layout with visually attractive imagery
• Intelligent site search by subject, period & style, activities to display tailored content
• An easy to use events filter with integrated ticket booking system
• Display of recently viewed pages, which is useful when browsing through such a depth of information
• High quality interviews and behind-the-scenes footage throughout the site
• A Search the collections microsite which contains a database of one million objects, with open API, and an image ordering system
• A channel microsite that holds a vast video collection, again with an intelligent filter system
• An extensive shop microsite

Both websites make it an enjoyable online experience by offering intuitive navigation and a clean, visually appealing design. Anne Frank Museum’s challenge is to make the depth of documentation about Anne’s personal story and the historical context of the third Reich accessible to a worldwide audience of all ages. The multilingual content, the timeline, the 3D walkthrough and the all over clear and simple tone of voice fulfil that aim. The mobile website and the strong social media integration are also a plus.

The Victoria and Albert Museum on the other hand has to present a very broad collection which embraces all forms of art and craft throughout centuries. Its intelligent content filter and the excellent Collections search ensure that users find content matching their interests.

This blog was written by Claudia Manns.