Growing alumni engagement for The Open University with the Tree of Learning

The Open University is an award-winning pioneer of distance-learning. Since it was established by Royal Charter 50 years ago, the University has helped over 2 million people from 157 countries gain higher education who may not otherwise have had access to it.

Best in class

We’re delighted to have been able to support the OU in every aspect of the Tree of Learning initiative, from the initial concept and creative development, through to print production and back-end response fulfilment.

Sculpted for success

We used the OU’s annual alumni magazine ‘Open Minds’ to launch the initiative. It opens with a letter from the Chancellor, introducing the Tree. We also included a colourful printed pack to grab readers’ attention. To encourage donations and re-engage alumni, we crafted our message using behavioural economics insights.

Opening minds to change lives

We have introduced new and improved print production techniques for several of the OU’s other alumni campaigns, including those aimed at making higher education more accessible for disabled veterans. These have resulted in a dramatic increase in response rates, as well as allowing the University to take advantage of Royal Mail discounts that reward Direct Mail innovation.

Innovative print production and postal savings

Our 2018 Blue Planet campaign pack has been extremely successful, enabling the OU to fund vital research into our oceans and 50 more places at residential field schools, supporting students to develop the practical field skills they need to become our future Earth and Environmental scientists.

Funding field researchers

The Open University wanted to do something special for their former students as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. 

They challenged us to come up with a new approach that would engage more alumni than ever before. 

Head of Alumni Fundraising, The Open University

“Working with Signal has provided us with a fantastic opportunity to share some incredible projects and inspiring fundraising packs with our alumni. 

We have found the whole experience of working with Signal incredibly positive and they have played a key role in supporting our work over the last year.”

The response has already far surpassed the OU’s fundraising targets. Over 6000 shields have been claimed so far by the University’s generous alumni - more than 3x the anticipated response. In fact, there has been such an overwhelming response that we needed to create a bigger tree!


Through their generous gift, each donor is supporting the next generation of students and will be a part of the OU’s lasting legacy in higher education.


And we’ve seen a significant increase in response rates to our other alumni campaigns for the University.

Our idea was designed to revive alumni’s strong personal connection with the OU by giving them an opportunity to become a physical part of the institution - in the form of a beautiful installation. 


In recognition of donations to the University’s 50th Anniversary Scholarship Fund, we gave former students the chance to have their name engraved onto a bespoke OU shield. We also invited them to share their stories about the impact their OU studies have had on their lives.


Each shield will be permanently displayed on the Tree of Learning, a newly commissioned full-size tree sculpture which will be housed in the OU’s on-campus library. 

Growing alumni engagement with the Tree of Learning.

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For the past ten years, Signal has worked on over 400 projects to help bring Nando’s vibrant brand to life online - take a look.

A key ingredient of Nando's brief was bringing their loyalty programme online. Their existing programme was based around pre-printed cards and didn't allow for data capture. We replaced their old paper and stamp loyalty card system with a new plastic card that talks directly to their EPOS system.

Linking loyal customers on and offline

The app allows customers to quickly and easily record their order, rather than having to memorise everything before going to the till. We took a modular approach to building the app so that it could be adapted for different markets and retain its core infrastructure. Localised versions have already been released in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

An app which enhances the experience

With more and more content being added to the new site, the navigation menu soon needed a refresh. We conducted user interviews and ran card sorting exercises, which helped identify content groupings that were meaningful from a user perspective. That meant we could design a more intuitive navigation scheme for the site, as featured by InVision's Inside Design blog.

A more intuitive menu

Nando’s is a wildly popular global restaurant chain, famous for its flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken.

For the past 10 years, Signal has worked on over 400 projects to help bring Nando’s vibrant brand to life online. This has included creating a completely new experience for their website, mobile apps and loyalty programme. All with improved usability and accessibility for their fans.

“Signal have been a real extension of the Nando’s team, working with us to design, build and maintain our website, and provide email marketing design, build and deployment, as well as creating our very successful app. They have not only helped us bridge the gap between our technology and marketing departments but also to have a much deeper understanding of our customers’ user experience through our digital channels.”

distinct projects completed across all digital channels

Nando's customers can now check their loyalty points/rewards, find their nearest restaurant, and browse the menu, using handy tools such as a dietary filter and calorie counter. 

All of which helps keep Nando's most loyal customers engaged both on and offline. The site was even chosen by Econsultancy as an example of the best restaurant mobile web UX.

And with both the app and website code now being used as the blueprint for global rollout across multiple markets, we couldn't be more 'grilled' with the results.

We knew we needed to make Nando’s online channels as enticing, satisfying and colourful as their restaurants.

First, we  undertook key stakeholder research to understand what users actually wanted and needed. We then designed and developed a hot and spicy new website, infused with their fun and fiery brand personality. Next, we created a fun but functional mobile app for both iOS and Android, plus an Apple Watch app.

Nando's loyalty scheme and takeaway ordering service are seamlessly baked in across all platforms. We also produce and deliver Nando's ongoing email programme, to help the brand stay connected with their customers.

A richer online experience for loyal restaurant fans.

#ffffff

Better customer-led communications for one of the UK's biggest banks.

Signal | Our Work with Lloyds Banking Group

We've given LBG a single customer view across hundreds of products, through intelligent use of data and aggregation at customer level. This has enabled access to the right data at the exact time it's needed. 


For example, we aggregated a change notification that affected 54 million accounts into 30 million packs. 
This lets customers know all the changes 
to their accounts in one pack.

Centralised data processing

We've helped LBG bring together data and content so they can create communications tailored to each customer's circumstances. By using pre-defined templates, we can quickly and easily apply a range of variable messaging for specific customer groups. 

This means we can provide fully composed documents as proofs for approval – so the campaign team are able to see exactly what each customer would receive and check it’s correct.

Data-led Document composition

We've built automated communication capabilities based on customer preferences. This enables LBG to communicate through customers' preferred channels - while also reducing costs and risk. 

The document proofing process is also automated. This means approvers have all the versions they need delivered straight to their secure mailbox, within minutes of their request.

Automated multichannel delivery

We've applied Behavioural Economics insights to help customers make better financial decisions, provide a better customer experience, and increase brand trust and loyalty. Clearer layouts and more customer-focused categories have also been introduced. 

For one project, this resulted in an 80% reduction in complaints and a 40% increase in customers taking positive action. We've also won two Nudge Awards for this work.

Customer-centric content and visuals

Previous production processes meant accessible formats could not be started until standard ones were approved, so we worked with the Group to achieve the best customer experience, no matter the format. 

Using our new 'Compose Once' system, LBG can now confidently deliver the accessible format requirement at the same time as the standard format, helping to reduce workloads and ensure equal treatment of visually impaired customers. 

Accessible formats

We’re working with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) to help them improve their mandatory and regulatory communications. The Group sends millions of updates to their customers each year, each of which needs to be personalised, accurate and timely. 

But a reliance on traditional production techniques previously made it challenging, and this could sometimes mean a poor experience for customers. Plus, if regulatory requirements were not met there could be fines and reputational damage. 

We've been working with LBG for over six years to develop and implement a better strategy.

Group Brands and Marketing, Lloyds Banking Group

Head of Mandatory and Regulatory Communications

"Signal’s expertise has been invaluable in helping us transform how we develop our mandatory and regulatory communications. Working together we’ve taken huge strides in improving customer experience, reducing risk, and streamlining deployment.”

postage and paper savings on a single large scale mandatory campaign.

LBG has saved both money and time as a result of the improvements - with £10m postage and paper savings on a single large scale mandatory campaign, for example.

The benefits for customers have also been significant. We can now send clear, concise and timely personalised communications, using the customer's channel of choice. Our work even won Best CX Innovation at the Financial Services Awards, 2017.

We've worked closely with LBG's marketing, data & IT departments to optimise how we work with them in the following areas:

We also helped roll out the changes across the Group, including an education programme for employees.

We delivered two world-class websites for the European Championships and Glasgow 2018 - find out how. 

Signal | Our Work with European Championships

We built both sites on Drupal using two guiding principles to ensure fast progress. First, separation of front-end visual styling and back-end code meant that both teams could work at the same time, speeding up development. Secondly, a component-based design and build made it easily expandable and customisable.

Streamlined development process

We tailored both builds based on insights we discovered during the Discovery phase. For example, we created a custom CMS backend using Drupal that prioritised ease of use. This freed up the content team to work fast during the live event.

Removing hurdles for content teams

The Events-time site included live schedules, real-time results, medal tables, athlete info, highlight clips and ‘watch live’ signposting. We also created a Media Centre using detailed filtering and taxonomies, so reporters across the world could access breaking news. And we generated embeddable and branded results widgets for partner sites to display.

Extra functionality for Events-time

This wasn’t the first time we've supported a major sporting event. We also gave a ‘flawless’ performance (the client’s words, not ours) as lead digital partner for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

A flawless sporting record

In 2018 the European Championships launched as a major multi-sport event, with Glasgow and Berlin as joint host cities. But a world-class digital presence was needed if the new fixture was to make its mark on the global sporting calendar.

Cue Signal. We joined the team in May 2017 with an exciting remit - to design and build two brand new websites - one focused on Glasgow, and one for the main event itself. 

Head of Technology, European Championships Management

We really enjoyed working with Signal and were delighted by the clarity, confidence and boldness they brought to the project. With the short lead time and complexity of this major event, we benefited greatly from the experience Signal brought with them. They worked with us as a team and made a tremendous effort to ensure everything went smoothly before, during and after Events-time.

 users from 221 countries during Events-time 

The Championships surpassed expectations, with 4,500 athletes from 52 nations competing. And both sites stood up to the test without breaking a sweat. There was a combined total of over 2 million visitors, from 221 countries between 1–15th August (with almost half visiting more than once).

The organisers were delighted by our team’s willingness to go the extra mile, with one product owner describing it as "the smoothest go-live she ever experienced.” Cue applause. 

Following our appointment, we had just three months to design and develop a brand new, visually vibrant home for glasgow2018.com. Once we smashed that task out of the park, we got to work creating another world class website for europeanchampionships.com.

We built both sites on Drupal in record time, leveraging the latest development techniques to ensure speed, stability, and ease of use. And we partnered with a major live results provider so fans could keep up-to-date with the latest stats and schedules.

Establishing a gold-standard brand was also a crucial part of bringing the Championships to life online. We introduced a colourful, energetic visual style, along with clear design guidelines to ensure a consistent experience across all channels and platforms.

A world-class online platform for a global sporting event.

Case study - Our results for the first digital campaign for The Famous Grouse was an impressive total global post reach of 516,466 people and 214,647 video views.

A high-impact social campaign for a premium blended Scotch whisky brand.

The film was shot at Glenturret Reservoir near Crieff, Scotland. We used a drone to capture cinematic footage of the stunning scenery, despite challenging wind conditions. The cairn at the peak of Choinneachain Hill (2582ft), with dramatic views of  Loch Turret below, provided the perfect location to greet hikers with a dram.

Our launch plan included a total of 8 Facebook ad sets. This enabled us to test the variables that could have a positive impact on the success of the piece. For example copy, CTA, targeting, pacing and campaign objectives. This helped establish the most effective ad strategy with the budget available. 

Ahead of launching the film, we shared a teaser post giving The Famous Grouse fans an indication that something great was on the way. The comment thread was inundated over the course of the day with fans trying to guess what was coming, and the post generated a 15% engagement rate.

Behind the Scenes

We’ve been working with The Famous Grouse as their global social content agency since 2017. 

A brand that’s renowned for their premium blended Scotch whisky deserves the highest quality content. We needed a cut-through social campaign that would surprise and delight their customers around the world. And it needed to relay their key messages effectively.

The finished film is a high-quality piece that was really well received throughout the business and by our international market teams. Not only this, we were really pleased to see the results and level of engagement that the film delivered and the wonderful consumer interactions and comments it prompted.

The direct response to the campaign on social media was extremely positive. Fans of the brand expressed their love for The Famous Grouse itself,  as well as for the video in its own right.

As The Famous Grouse's global agency, we monitor how many of their markets publish our content themes and how they perform. The results were impressive both in the UK and internationally, with a total post reach of 516,466 people and 214,647 video views.

Each piece of social content has to tie into The Famous Grouse’s "well deserved" messaging and key strategic theme, "elevate the everyday." With this in mind, our first campaign was developed around the concept of rewarding hardy hikers with a dram of whisky.

To test the idea, we produced some initial social posts suggesting that a dram could be the perfect reward after a hike. When this generated a positive response amongst their audience, we knew the concept was worth investing in further. 

This resulted in the centrepiece of the campaign -  a two minute short film (produced with Greenroom Films) showing hikers being rewarded with a dram as they reach the summit of their climb. We also created multiple image assets, short edits and a ‘making of’ piece to support it.

A cut-through global social media campaign for the renowned Scotch whisky brand.

How we created a powerful film to showcase the transformative work the IMI does and how it’s making a difference.  

Signal | Our Work with the Innovative Medicines Initiative 

The positive message of #CarryTheTorch continues to spread through the IMI and their partner organisations. The campaign has evolved into a wider campaign - #IMITenYears - which supports the initiative’s 10th anniversary in 2018 and celebrates its significant public, social and economic value in a simple and memorable way.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is a groundbreaking public-private partnership which fosters collaboration in healthcare research. It helps speed up the development of new medicines, so more patients in need can receive the treatment they need.

However, the initiative has received some criticism, and there was a danger this would overshadow its achievements. We wanted to change the conversation by demonstrating the difference the IMI is making.

All over Europe there are countless academics, researchers, scientists and clinicians quietly collaborating in order to help patients live better and longer lives. The #CarryTheTorch campaign gave us an exciting opportunity to tell their stories, and to demonstrate how the Innovative Medicines Initiative is supporting these life-changing 21st century innovators.

We created a powerful film, telling the story of how the IMI is carrying the torch of medical innovation from the past into the future. And we supported it with a suite of social content to add more context.

The campaign connects the work that IMI is currently doing with the great medical pioneers and discoveries of the past. And it shows that the work of today’s scientists is just as critical and transformative.

A powerful campaign highlighting medical progress.

How we helped the British Heart Foundation to design and deliver an improved experience for new supporters.

Signal | Our Work with British Heart Foundation

The initial welcome campaign points supporters towards an online landing page where they can let the charity know the areas of work they’re most interested in. 

Then, on the day of a supporter’s first payment, BHF sends them a personalised thank you message. TriggerHub automatically selects the most relevant content and channel for each person, based on the preferences they’ve expressed.

Once the initial rules are written and communication templates signed off, there is no more briefing, processing or proofing. Everything runs automatically. BHF can review results daily and make enhancements to the journeys very quickly.

British Heart Foundation came to us with a big problem. Half their regular supporters were dropping out within the first 12 months.

It didn’t help that it took the charity around three months to send new supporters a welcome message, due to their reliance on manual processes. BHF knew that they needed to do a better job of communicating with their regular givers. They asked us to help them design and deliver an improved experience for new supporters.

PUTTING SUPPORTERS AT THE HEART OF THINGS

Retention Direct Marketing Manager, British Heart Foundation

This new approach is exactly what we wanted. It has transformed the experience of our regular supporters by putting them in control of what happens next, and it’s also saving us a considerable amount of time.

Letting supporters know their donation makes a difference

New regular givers are now sent a multichannel welcome campaign within the first few weeks - a big improvement on the previous three months.  

Supporters can choose whether to watch new videos on the train, or read updates at leisure over their morning coffee. And BHF can send them more relevant, timely communications, based on their actions and preferences.

This new automated approach is also quicker and easier for staff to manage than before, with fewer repetitive tasks to complete. This gives BHF's fundraising and data teams more time to focus on further improvements to the supporter experience.

We worked with the charity to design new welcome journeys that put supporters in control of the process. We also wanted to make it as simple as possible for BHF to deliver them.

First, we used behavioural science to identify a suite of supporter triggers. These allow BHF to send relevant communications when supporters take a specific action.

Next, we programmed our in-house automation tool, TriggerHub, to deliver them.

Putting supporters in control of the communications they receive.

Find out how we helped Christian Aid to improve their welcome experience, using an automated system to deliver timely and relevant acknowledgment of new donations.

The new system receives a new data feed each day from Christian Aid and sends emails to new supporters at 10am the following morning. That means it’s less than 24 hours from initial receipt of data to the welcome message arriving - without anyone lifting a finger.

24 hours turnaround

The automation tool validates, segments and processes data as soon as it becomes available. It then generates personalised email and direct mail based on the results. For example, it recognises gift amounts, payment method, existing relationships and channel preference.

Personalised in real-time

The new system also recognises how supporters respond, using this data to make decisions about what to send next. For example, it will send direct mail to supporters that don’t open emails.

In-built intelligence

Christian Aid were missing out on an opportunity to engage new supporters. 

Each year during Christian Aid Week, the charity receive around 125,000 individual donations. But they didn’t have a process in place to acknowledge or thank people for their gift. New supporters weren’t contacted again until the charity sent them another request for a donation four months later.

Individual Engagement Manager, Christian Aid

We're delighted with the improvements Signal have made to the Christian Aid Week welcome journey. We can now deliver personal messages to new supporters within 24 hours, which has led to more people becoming regular givers without the need for extra work from our team.

of supporters made an additional donation

Christian Aid are now responding to new supporters with relevant content in record time. This provides reassurance that the charity values their individual contribution.

By blending email with direct mail, Christian Aid also has a better chance of reaching people through the appropriate channel. 

As a result, significantly more people are being converted into engaged supporters.

Christian Aid knew this wasn’t the best way to begin a relationship. So they asked us to improve the welcome experience for Christian Aid Week.

To achieve this, we developed an automated system to deliver timely and relevant acknowledgment of new donations. 

The charity can now send a thank you email to new supporters within 24 hours, followed by a direct mail welcome pack. Each message is dynamically composed from a suite of 18 templates to provide a personal experience.

A better welcome for new supporters, automatically.

Bringing a world-class art collection to life online.

Signal | Our Work with National Galleries of Scotland

We collaborated very closely with Galleries to achieve the best possible results. Two members of the client team worked with us in-house on a regular basis during the design and development of the site. This meant we had full access to their expertise and knowledge throughout the process.

A co-located team

To cater for different users, we provided different depths of experience for people to explore. This includes related content those who want to delve deeper, a full shop, CRM integration and support for visitors and donations.

Fulfilling a broad range of audience needs

Creating a site that can host 92,000 high res artworks required some very specific high-tech solutions. For example, we created an image upload and storage system using a 'middleware' tier. This stores complex catalogue data along with each image. We also created an automated colour picker and a powerful zoom tool.

Innovative technology

National Galleries of Scotland asked us to help them bring their world-class collection to life online - for art lovers around the globe to enjoy.

We're not just talking about a fresh lick of paint. When we began, only 6% of the collection was viewable on the existing website, which wasn’t robust or flexible enough for further expansion. Galleries' digital presence needed to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Director General, The National Galleries of Scotland

“The new collection site serves as a fantastic window to explore our world-class collection, opening it up as a resource for everybody to use, from leisurely enjoyment of the arts all the way through to academic research” 

images to explore, with new artworks added daily.

Our approach paid off. Art lovers can now experience some of the world's finest artworks as up close and personal as they like. Over 92,000 artwork records are already in place and 50,000 high res images are available to all. And with new artworks automatically uploaded every day, Galleries’ entire catalogue will soon be accessible for all.

As a result, time spent viewing art on the site has increased, and user feedback surveys show that visitors find the new site much more engaging.

We also helped Galleries meet their commercial objectives. Sales increased by 35% year-on-year, mirroring the increase in shop pageviews by more than double.

Our biggest challenge was how to do justice to such a renowned collection. Our strategy was to make the art itself as prominent as possible, and present it as the artists intended.

We wanted website visitors to be able to view each piece up close and with as much detail as they would in a physical gallery space. To achieve this, each artwork had be reproduced in as high-resolution imagery as possible.

Getting the user experience right was also crucial. We worked hard to ensure navigating the site is as intuitive and interesting as visiting a physical art gallery.

Bringing their stunning collection of art to life online.

An example of video content we created for EUDF

How we created a brand new visual identity and online presence to help tackle a global pandemic.

Signal | Our Work with the European Diabetes Forum

To give EUDF the best start, the visual identity flowed across the website and social media advertising. We also created a series of striking templates which showcase the Forum's aims.

A consistent identity

A high-impact Twitter campaign was the perfect vehicle to launch the EUDF brand and mission. Focusing on the scientists, policy makers and professionals behind EUDF, it made an immediate impact with a wider pan-European audience. This will help ensure policy action is directed towards better diabetes care, nationally and on a European level.

Building online awareness

Diabetes is one of the world’s biggest health problems - a global pandemic which affects 60 million people and claims a life every 6 seconds.

The European Diabetes Forum (EUDF) was formed in 2018 as a collective response to the disease. It brings together several key academic and scientific influencer groups, in a bid to raise awareness of diabetes and ensure the translation of research into policy and practice which improves diabetes care.

We were privileged to have the opportunity to support the European Diabetes Forum from the very beginning, helping unite the stakeholders around a common identity in order to drive evidence-led change to policy and clinical practice.”

The Forum’s vision, mission and Call to Action are now at the heart of its website, social media and other collateral. This is helping to unite their stakeholders around a common identity and shared mission.

EUDF needed a way to unite its diverse stakeholder voices behind a single call to action, ahead of its official launch. 

Following our appointment, we had less than two months to develop a new visual identity, logo and website for EUDF. First, we worked closely with multiple EUDF stakeholders to design a strong visual identity and logo. This highlights the Forum’s aim of driving progress through collaboration. 

We then developed the EUDF website other collateral to support the new identity. This includes the Forum’s Call to Action and printed materials for the launch event. 

We also handled social media set-up and community management and ran targeted creative campaigns for the launch (followed up by new content for World Diabetes Day).

A visual identity and online presence to help tackle a global pandemic.

Find out how we helped nPower to build better relationships with their customers - despite the energy sector being renowned for low customer engagement. 

Glow also provides supporting content to npower’s above-the-line campaigns and partnerships. For example, it featured exclusive news, articles and interviews to support their role as official Team England sponsor during the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Glow big or glow home

There’s no point producing engaging content without an effective way of delivering it to customers. This is where our In-Life email programme comes in. It has constantly evolved to incorporate complex segmentation, delivery and automation since its launch in April 2016. And thanks to the comprehensive reporting and data analysis process, we’ve managed to test and learn as the programme has matured. 

Emails that people actually want to read

Our content strategy puts three key pillars at the heart of npower's CRM programme - home, family and energy. We’ve worked closely with their team to script, storyboard and direct a suite of video content around these pillars. The films range from the functional to the more emotionally engaging - helping to inform, entertain and retain customers.

Fun films for busy families

The energy sector is renowned for particularly low customer engagement and retention. So, when npower challenged us to build better relationships with their customers, we knew we had a challenge on our hands.

Our strategy? Focus on helping customers rather than selling products. We knew that with a content-led approach, npower could add value to their customers beyond price alone.

Signal's strategic, creative and operational support has resulted in huge improvements to our CRM programme over the last few years. We're delighted with the results.

customers receive tailored, content-led emails each month

npower now has a much more relatable, relevant and engaging reason to talk to customers on a regular basis. The result is better customer engagement, including higher open and click-through rates and an 18% increase in dwell time.

Qualitative research has also shown improved sentiment towards npower from recipients. It turns out customers do want to hear from their energy supplier if they have something valuable to say.

JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN
DATA, CODE AND CREATIVITY

Work

The Open University

Nando's

Lloyds Banking Group

European Championships

The Famous Grouse

Innovative Medicines Initiative

British Heart Foundation

Christian Aid

National Galleries of Scotland

European Diabetes Forum

npower

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The Salvation Army

Cheltenham

Edinburgh

London

JOINING THE DOTS BETWEEN DATA, CODE AND CREATIVITY