Best Use of Digital - Vodafone Group
Introducing our webpage and video entry for the ‘Best Use of Digital’ category, The Corporate Content Awards Europe 2023
Vodafone.com
Here at Vodafone, we firmly believe in the power of technology to drive positive change for people and the planet.
But, we also know digital doesn’t stand still.
Three years ago, we looked at our corporate website, and the verdict was unanimous—let's do something radically different.
Want to see what it looked like? (Just please don’t hold it against us).
See the old Vodafone.com website
Creating a new corporate website from the ground up is tough.
Especially if you have:
- 37 different stakeholders worldwide.
- A traditionally siloed approach with low-level consensus on the future state.
- High demand for digital transformation but with low resources and limited timescale.
- The challenge of communicating digital change at an executive level and telling truth to power.
A new vision
To reimagine Vodafone’s global corporate website and create a best-in-class experience in terms of design, functionality, and performance.
Our north star
Positioning Vodafone as a trusted leader in the global digital sphere.
What we did
In order to disrupt the digital status quo for Vodafone Group and launch a new era of digital-first experiences for our global audience, we decided on three priorities at the very beginning of the process—to think mobile-first, be audience-centric and drive change with data.
All successful digital experiences need strong foundations.
So, our approach was bottom-up, organic, and comprised of four separate rebuilds in under 36 months. So, not for the faint-hearted.
Underpinning the process was systematic and data-driven thinking—insights, opportunities, new perspectives, and breakthroughs were all fuelled by the data we gathered. This included a UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) review, stakeholder engagement, audience research, functionality comparison with competitor analysis, web traffic analysis, heat maps, and content audits.
To balance the needs of our stakeholders and global audience, we committed to a comprehensive internal communication drive to influence and build consensus internally to install a digital-first culture from the top down.
And finally, to deliver a digital experience that spoke first and foremost to our external audience, we prioritised mobile-first design and development. By doing this, we could ensure we catered to the 90% of traffic that comes from mobile devices, providing better and more engaging experiences for all our audiences globally.
Utilising technology that stands the test of time
To improve flexibility, scalability, performance, and maintainability, we employed cutting-edge and future-proof technology. We exchanged the monolithic traditional infrastructure for a decoupled architecture using Next.js front-end and a headless CMS (Content Management System) with an at edge global CDN (Content Distribution Network), giving us worldwide coverage and ensuring we seamlessly reach 194 countries.
Driving engagement
Here's what we've achieved in the 12 months since going live:
19m
website viewers
164m
page views
1m+
number of news article readers
1 reader
in every country on the planet
10,537
articles
154
countries with regular repeat visitors
* Data from 1 Aug 2021 - 30 Jul 2022
5 translations
in Italian, Spanish, Russian, Greek and Chinese
(these are translations called for by the user by passing the site through a translator)
Reimagining Vodafone’s global corporate website
Examples of the components and animations designed to add value and maximise engagement
Interactive digital storytelling
Spotlight Stories combines video, audio, text, images and animation to create a new interactive multimedia entry to the Vodafone brand and our purpose.
The Power of 5G
Innovation in Healthcare
Learning to Disrupt
A new digital experience with purpose
With the launch of the new corporate website, Vodafone Group now has the following:
A new website with innovative design throughout supported by future-proofed technology.
Improved website performance, security, load time and maintainability by exchanging monolithic for a decoupled infrastructure using Next.JS and headless CMS, enabling a composable architecture to allow for multiple APIs.
Seamless user journeys that consistently lead the audience back to Vodafone.com.
Digital storytelling aligned with the core purpose and brand messaging strategy. See our UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Engaging, inspiring, and interactive digital experiences. See our new Vodafone Roaming Services and our entry for the ‘Best Use of Content’ category, The CorpComms Awards 2022.
An exemplar of transparent reporting, trustworthy information, and good digital governance. See Sustainability reports, News,Public Policy and Privacy Centre.
The ability to lead by example and respond quickly to unpredictable events such as Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, and the more recent cost of living crisis, while supporting our users with accurate and timely information. See our Covid-19 page.
Cutting-edge technology. See Spotlight Stories, animated infographics and world map.
So, what next?
We believe we’ve only scratched the surface with our corporate website for Vodafone Group.
Technology alongside audience needs and expectations will continue to evolve and change.
We’re now ready for bigger, more innovative, more groundbreaking digital projects to push the boundaries of what’s possible to deliver impactful change through technology to connect for a better future for all.