/Interview/ World Archipelago
21/05/2007 | Filed under Design > Interview
World Archipelago is a leading multimedia agency that specialises in building and repackaging media content for the web and interactive TV. We quiz the team on how it differs from other agencies, and how it built its impressive, niche client base
.net: What does World Archipelago specialise in?
MHW: Most of our clients come from the TV and entertainment sectors, so we’re always looking to push the envelope with everything we do. We believe in the mantra “evolve or die”, so that means we invest heavily in research and development and staying on the cutting edge of the web.
JH: We create interactive games, super-slick video players, user-generated content applications, online marketing campaigns, and we also found a cure for avian flu. OK, one of those isn’t true.
SA: Our work spans across a multitude of platforms, including broadband, mobile and the web. We design, develop, and then market the product online. We also get heavily involved in brand advertising and strategic online consultation.
.net: What are the main skills of your web team? Do some of the creatives work on both web and TV stuff?
MHW: We’re a full-service digital agency with a team evenly split into creative, technical and account management. Our creatives combine a mixture of design, illustration, Flash development and 3D skills. Two recent projects for Mr Men and Those Scurvy Rascals involved substantial animation of these brilliant brands, which the team absolutely loved. Meanwhile, our programmers have been exploring the limits of Web 2.0 and coming up with some pretty cool mashups, especially using Google Maps.
.net: What’s been your biggest achievement?
MHW: It would have to be building one of the UK’s first broadband websites for a major TV network. Not only did it win the IVCA Award for Best Use of Broadband, but neither us nor the client (Discovery Channel) had even put it forward. It was nominated by our peers in the industry, which is the best compliment you can get.
.net: What would be the ideal web project for you?
MHW: We’re actually working on it now – taking all the brands of Chorion PLC (including Noddy, Mr Men and Agatha Christie) into the digital space. From broadband video to online shop to mobile marketing, it’s the complete pie. And the team is loving it!
.net: You also do “non-designery” things like SEO and e-marketing. How are you able to offer these as well?
MHW: Developing an expert technical team has been as important to us as a strong creative studio. SEO and e-marketing are integral to our projects, as there’s no point building the most amazing work if there’s no audience to see it.
SA: In e-marketing, we focus on both a long-term marketing strategy and short campaign blasts, depending on what the client’s objectives are. We have a good portfolio of success stories.
JH: It’s critical for businesses to establish a relationship with their customers and users. That’s why we have dedicated teams that specialise in both of these areas.
.net: Do the fees of true “multimedia” agencies tend to be higher, and what sort of client do you hope to attract as a result?
SA: No. Our fees are about 25-30 per cent lower than the top 10 big digital agencies, but we’re every bit as creative and/or technical, and we’re competitive among smaller multimedia agencies. We attract top brands because we have such a high standard of work and because we’re smaller and more approachable. They can get closer to the designer or programmer who is actually doing their work.
JH: We pride ourselves on offering a top-quality product that’s great value for money, so we’re not going to modify our pricing to follow other agencies. That’s not our style. Our motto is “Better. Faster. Cheaper”, and our rapid growth indicates that it’s an approach that a lot of top brands agree with.
.net: What projects are you currently working on?
JH: A brand new multiplayer game that’s so hushhush, I might have to shoot myself for just telling you about it. Our first foray into the world of Second Life, and a brand new visual search product called RocketMap that’s going to make a huge splash in the mapping world. Also, expect to see the Mr Men appearing all over the place!
SA: A brand-building and an online “gorilla” marketing campaign for Those Scurvy Rascals.
.net: What tools does your creative team hope to start using in 2007?
JH: We’re excited to see what Adobe does with Flash 9 now that it’s bought Macromedia. However, since we live in an age saturated with “tools”, we don’t get as excited about which tools we use as much as what use we put them to.
MHW: Flash Lite games and applications for handheld devices, 3D (Second Life), MMORPG and Flex.
.net: What’s the culture like at World Archipelago?
JH: It’s fun, creative and democratic. Everybody’s opinion counts, and ideas and contributions are encouraged from all areas of the company. We work well as a team because we have a lot of respect for each other and are passionate about the work.
SA: We’re a passionate group of people. We get excited very easily about digital projects, and don’t have time for hierarchy or office politics.
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Comments
Michael / 24/05/2007 / 06:47 / http://www.cydsoft.com
World Archipelago WEB site is cool but making sites with Flash only isn’t good idea. Search engine doesn’t index flash movie.
Jake / 24/08/2007 / 15:17 / http://www.mtsierra.edu
This is really great interwiev with World Archipelago !
Rizwan Ahmed / 05/11/2007 / 03:45 / http://no website
I want to know about new filters
Dolapo Taiwo / 08/12/2007 / 15:34 / http://www.doladams.com
I am really impressed with this interview. Its very true that smaller agencies are more approachable and clients can easily discuss with their designers as opposed to the 'big' agencies. I think this is a strong marketing point for smaller agencies. By the way has anyone seen the animation on the contact page of the world archipelago's site. Very hilarious!
David / 28/05/2008 / 15:50 / http://blog.daviddeutsch.de
I'm waiting for a new interview like this. The last one was in mid-07 and cause I can say that the interview was very interesting I hope that this was'nt the last of his kind. There aren't a lot of good interviews out there so...
Greetz from germany!
Simon / 28/08/2008 / 21:18 / http://www.emstech.co.uk
I agree with the earlier comments. Their website is very pretty but Flash should be used sparingly. Very annoying that you have to go to full screen to see everything because there are no scrollbars?!
Lee Newell / 01/03/2009 / 22:05 / http://www.creativehat.co.uk
Inspiring, but feels like a million miles away from my web design company ... two men working from home
Interface / 02/08/2009 / 09:25 / http://www.fabricinterface.com
As a small web design agency, we can relate to price points stipulated in the review. It is important to remain accessible to a diverse customer base ranging from the one man bands to enterprise level.
Mark Excell / 01/02/2010 / 13:35 / http://www.websitesbymark.co.uk
Nice article. Shows where the world is going. At Websites by Mark, I try and help small companies reach a larger audience via viral and social marketing. I think we can all learn something from the words written above.
