We’re delighted to announce we have been appointed as the digital agency for Contact a Family, the national charity for families of disabled children.

After winning a competitive pitch against several agencies, we’re briefed to redesign and relaunch the Contact a Family website. This project marks the beginning of a long-term digital strategy for the charity, after almost a decade of internal website management.

Initially, Public Zone will create a more user-friendly website, to make it easier for visitors to navigate their way to the charity’s information, support and advice services. To do this, the agency will carry out user research to inform the site’s architecture, visual design and content, and build an easy-to-use Content Management System (CMS). An important goal of the new site will be to communicate the vital role that Contact a Family plays in the lives of families with disabled children, and encourage people to support the charity through online donations and fundraising events. In time, the new site will integrate with a sophisticated new CRM system.

Contact a Family supports UK families with disabled children whatever their condition or disability. With more than 30 years’ experience, the charity offers support, information and advice on all aspects of raising a disabled child and puts families in touch with others for support. Last year, it helped over 340,000 families. In January 2012, Contact a Family launched the first Special Educational Needs (SEN) National Advice Service, to support the families of disabled children even further.

Amanda Prosser, executive director of Public Zone, said: “Contact a Family is an amazing charity providing much-needed support to families with disabled children. We’re really excited to help it use digital to communicate with families and potential supporters online, because this is the work that motivates us.”

Brian Moran, project manager at Contact a Family, said: “This project marks an exciting start to a new relationship between Contact a Family and Public Zone. Their experience in the charitable sector and their passion for digital made them the obvious choice for our website redesign. The effort they put into their pitch simply crystallised this for us; in a nutshell, they offered to provide exactly what we were looking for and more.”

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve just launched the beta version of RAW, a new website for leading farm animal welfare charity, Compassion in World Farming.

RAW is a new brand that tackles the issue of factory farming. By looking at its real cost, the new platform explores the effects and impact of modern farming systems – such as pollution and disease – and promotes a safer, fairer, greener system. It calls for a food and farming revolution, and aims to end factory farming by 2050.

In addition to providing information on factory farming-related issues, the new site will also give supporters the opportunity to get involved with major campaigns.

Tell us what you think via @publiczone

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, has appointed Public Zone, the pro-social division of Zone to execute a brand development task for the UNICEF social media and civic department. The agency will also work with the department to develop a global social media strategy.

The department was recently established with the mandate to manage global UNICEF social media channels and create innovative social media projects in partnership with regional and country specific branches. The department will also help UNICEF to realise the power of social media to assist in the mobilisation of supporters, fundraising and delivery of programmes, and ensure best practices via a knowledge-sharing hub.

Public Zone will create a series of brand assets and guidelines to communicate the department’s role to provide support, drive innovation, nurture knowledge sharing and enable capacity building across the 190 UNICEF countries.

The department and agency will create a tool kit to deliver against the department’s mandate. UNICEF branches that have not yet ventured into social media will benefit from the experiences of other UNICEF countries and learn to use online channels as effectively as possible via the learnings of branches that have already executed digital campaigns.

For example, UNICEF Argentina has more than 100,000 Facebook followers and has created content to explain how it achieved this. Similarly, UNICEF Brazil has launched a digital mapping initiative whereby people are encouraged to post live updates to a digital map identifying danger spots in cities where rapes have occurred, so women can consult it and know which areas to avoid.

Jonathan Simmons, executive director at Public Zone, added: “UNICEF has a great heritage in innovation and pushing the barriers, being the first organisation to introduce goodwill ambassadors. It isn’t merely content with having 1.5 million Facebook followers, but recognises the need to harness the power of citizenship media to enable its workers on the ground. We look forward to helping the organisation to realise this.”

We’re delighted to announce that we have integrated with our sister agency Zone to become one digital agency working with the biggest brands and not-for-profit organisations in the world.

Zone now not only offers first-class digital creative and strategy but also has user experience at its heart. And Public Zone, as the pro-social division of Zone, now offers not-for-profit organisations digital expertise and insights gained from producing creative strategy and content for the world’s largest brands.

We’re really excited about what this means for our clients. Watch this space for our new website!

Some thought that social media is purely a conversational, relationship-building tool – albeit one that could indirectly lead to donations from more engaged fans further down the line. But others, such as event organiser Slywia Presley, took a stronger position, arguing that it should be a core part of any charity’s fundraising strategy. She predicts that those who fail to experiment in this space will eventually miss out and struggle to stay afloat.

Having said that, social media is not going to replace traditional methods any time soon. For instance, although direct mail is no longer the key channel it used to be, it still has the power to reach a demographic of less web-savvy people. Even if 60 percent of UK adults are on Facebook, many do not use it to engage with charities, or to keep up to date with causes they support.

The opportunity here is to start meaningful, ongoing conversations with potential and current donors. If you have a real human voice (or even many voices) available to engage on social media, and have a plan for how to add fundraising asks into the dialogue, then you’re on your way to success.

One last thought has stayed with us. Large charities can afford the resources to get involved in this way, and to take the time to innovate. But what’s the best strategy for smaller campaigns and charities?

by @Anna_Heaton, Sarah Welton and @borrodell

This week is Social Media Week, and as we’re curious creatures hungry for knowledge on all things digital, we thought it was a great opportunity to learn and share our experiences. Public Zone senior account manager Martha Paren took the time to write a blog about what she learned at her chosen talk from the jam-packed schedule. Over to Martha…

I started my Valentine’s Day with breakfast at the Porter Novelli Social Media Week event ‘Men Are From Foursquare, Women Are From Facebook’. It was a fairly formal presentation of research the agency have carried out looking at the trends of genders across their key markets in the UK and Europe. Many of the findings were fairly predictable – women are more socially active than men, women are more likely to sign up because of discount vouchers, etc. However, I did come away with some interesting insights that I’m keen to explore in terms of using social media for fundraising and campaigning, and one stat that blew my mind…

So, according to Helen Nowicka, Porter Novelli’s Head of Digital, the key distinction between the genders use of social media is that women share to interact, and men for status. So women are more likely to use Facebook and to connect with people they know, whereas men are more likely to turn to Twitter and blogs to broadcast an opinion; 45% of men check in using services like Foursquare, compared to just 33% of women. Nowicka quoted a piece of research by the Wall Street Journal, looking at check-in patterns during a particular week: men dominated check-in around travel and airports, showing their status by telling people where they were going, whereas women often checked into more everyday activities (going to the beauty parlour, dropping the kids off at school or going to shopping).

As a Public Zone employee, I’m interested in how this applies to activities like sharing messages about fundraising on social media. A campaign like Movember allows members to rank themselves against other fundraisers, which ties into the competitive and status angle for men – but is this something that would encourage men to share on social media? Would women, on the other hand, be more likely to share stories about training for a particular event, seeking reassurance and interaction rather than just promoting that they are taking part?

The concluding points of the presentation backed up, yet again, the importance of user research – have a purpose and a strategy for social media that is combined with human insight; don’t expect it to be a fix-all tool. And the bit that blew my mind? Just 15% of Wikipedia contributions are from women. Why? A straw poll among female account managers came up with reasons: men are more geeky, women are busier, men think they know it all….

Overall, it was an interesting way to start the day, although I would have liked more time for discussion around the particular points rather than just the formal presentation. The full slides can be found at http://www.slideshare.net/PNLondon/men-are-from-foursquare-women-are-from-facebook

We are delighted to announce we have been appointed as the digital agency for charity Rethink Mental Illness.

We shall deliver an overarching digital strategy for the charity, which underwent a brand refresh last year, and the Public Zone team is currently hard at work analysing how a refreshed digital presence can build the Rethink Mental Illness brand, raise awareness of the charity and issues surrounding serious mental illness, implement the new branding and improve the services the charity provides. Our work will also include user research and information architecture (IA) for the new site.

Public Zone will review the existing IA to combine microsites created to address specific needs, such as an area designed for young people affected by mental illness and another section for siblings of people with mental illness. The new website is due to launch in April.

Rethink Mental Illness is a charity that campaigns for policy change and challenges stigmatising attitudes around mental illness. It also runs mental health services and support groups across England.  The charity supports almost 60,000 people every year and its celebrity supporters include Dame Judi Dench and Jo Brand.

Mark Davies, director of communications at Rethink Mental Illness, said: “Last year’s brand refresh was a move forward, and the digital overhaul is the next step in improving our services and reaching more people affected by severe mental illness. Public Zone’s combination of digital content insight and passion for our cause made it the clear choice.”

Jonathan Simmons, Public Zone managing director, added: “With 2011 donations reportedly down 11 percent, it’s crucial that UK charities take a user-centric approach for solutions that best meets supporters’ needs, when reviewing their digital presence. Rethink Mental Illness has recognised the importance of this and embarked upon an exciting journey that will make all the difference to the people it aims to help.”

So it’s full steam ahead for us, kicking off the year with a bang.

Earlier this week Vix had the bright idea of running a lunchtime origami session for any paper-folding enthusiasts at the agency.  It was partly an idea to expand our creative horizons playing in another medium, partly good old-fashioned fun and mostly because someone gave her an origami dinosaur in the pub and she was very impressed by it.

For our first attempt she settled on making a dinosaur, or Procompsognathus to be exact. It looks a bit like a less terrifying T-Rex.

Our inspiration - Pubosaurus

Origami can be done on plain paper but if you visit Muji they do a range of patterned paper sheets which make your creations look a little bit funkier. We decided that patterned paper was the best type to use as plain coloured paper revealed dodgy folds more in the final creation.

The first rule of Origami Lunch Club is you don't talk about Origami Lunch Club

Origami Lunch Club Founder Vix

After much diligent folding, a lot of tracing our steps backwards and being helped by the naturally adept Sarah (who discovered her innate aptitude for origami) we each managed to complete a Procompsognathus. Here are the fruits of our labours:

Dino-zoo

Origami piggyback

We compared them and decided that the ones that could stand upright and had good weight distribution and poise (due to the all important clean folding) were the best. The more you rushed the folding (and consequently made mistakes, weakening the structure with unnecessary folds) the poorer your final product. It made us appreciate the fact that we work in a digital medium where the product we work with is virtual and so unaffected by how many times you have to go back to the start!

Here are some pictures of genuinely amazing origami that takes the art to another level.

Origami Stag Beetle that looks like it's about to crawl

Another level: origami dragon

As you can see we have some way to go, but it’s a start. In honour of the launch of Origami Lunch Club (OLC) here are some tips and facts of the folding variety:

• Origami comes from the Japanese ‘ori’ meaning “folding”, and ‘kami’ meaning “paper”.

• In November 1999, Wings for Peace in Seattle, USA created the world’s largest paper crane as a stunt to raise awareness of their charity. It was over 215 feet wide.

• The smallest origami crane was made by Mr. Naito of Japan. He used progressively smaller and smaller squares until the smallest crane was made from a 0.1 x 0.1 mm square. Naito folded the tiny crane using a microscope and special tools that he made himself.

• When practicing origami you will have to master ‘basic’ folds like valley and mountain folds, pleats, reverse folds, squash folds, and sinks. In this context the word ‘basic’ is rather misleading.

• There is a British Origami Association that has its own bi-monthly magazine.

• A good tip is to be precise and make your folds crisp by running your nail or the back of a spoon over the fold. Above all, be relaxed, take your time and enjoy the process.

We enjoyed making our origami dinosaurs so much we’ve decided to make Origami Lunch Club and weekly thing. Watch this space!

Jacob and James write for the Guardian on mobile apps and charities

It has been a busy start to the year for us at Public Zone. Having designed and launched the Diabetes UK iPhone app last September we realised that other charities would benefit from hearing what we’ve learned. And we like to share our knowledge to help make the world a better place. So Public Zone designer Jacob Payne and strategist James Brown put their heads together to write an article for the Guardian Voluntary network. It lists the five most common mistakes that charities considering a mobile app should avoid when thinking about engaging their supporters.

The Diabetes UK iPhone app was a brilliant project to have led – for both our staff and as an organisation, because we learned an awful lot in the creative process. When building the app our approach was first to understand the challenges of managing the condition in order to ensure it would really get used. We keep usefulness and effectiveness front of mind when making digital tools for charities (obviously visual impact is important too but meeting the needs of users is the most important factor in such projects).

Part of the user research strategy was to consult the Diabetes UK supporter Facebook community on our ideas and then on three potential designs we developed. They have a hugely active Facebook community so asking them was easy and cost effective too.

Evidently there was a hunger for the Guardian article as it has been shared scores of times on Twitter, has had numerous Facebook recommendations and the odd comment too.

It’d be good to know if there are any other aspects of the work we do that would make a good follow up article, so drop a line to james@publiczone.co.uk if there are any other topics you think we could advise on. We’re always happy to share if it’s going to be useful to others.

This week those of you who keep a hand in on all things design will recognize our own Vix Young peering out of the pages of New Design magazine. In the column Vix showcases some of her favourite design products. They include paper clips in the shape of a penguin, an egg cup in the shape of a chess-board rook and an accompanying knight to hold the ‘soldiers’ (we particularly like the continuity with that one) and a pink flamingo shaped chopsticks holder.  Very quirky!

Some of Vix's favourite design products

One of Vix’s key observations in the article is how much she appreciates personality in design. It is a quality that really makes design stand out from the crowd, allows the character to shine through and showcases its differentiating qualities. However, when applying this insight to her own discipline Vix observes that UX designers can overlook this, whereas in product design it is the most important aspect: ‘I believe personality makes products more enjoyable to use and ultimately more memorable.’ She extols the virtue of cross-pollination between disciplines, enriching our user experience design instincts by learning from product design considerations. In a world where all marketers seek to create memorable work and deliver enjoyable experiences to users design is a fundamental consideration.

Vix is well placed to know. She is our senior user experience designer and this year brought her expertise to bear on the BIMA and the APA International Content Marketing award winning MyFarm project for National Trust, the Channel 4 Paralympics website design and build, where user experience design was fundamental in ensuring all content was delivered in such a way as to engage the c.7000 weekly visitors, as well as for projects for charities Prostate Cancer Charity and Somewhereto.