I was recently asked by Jonny White of Zimma to “write some copy” for a web site that he was working on. Although that’s not something I’ve done before, it sounded like an interesting and reasonably straightforward task, so I accepted. It soon became clear that, like many things in life, it was a lot more complex than it seemed at first glance!
VCA Technology is a young company developing intelligent video analysis software, primarily for OEM manufacturers of CCTV equipment. The OEM then sells to another company that brands the goods, which often go to a regional distributor before being sold to the final customer, often on the advice of a system integrator. Within the customer’s organisation there are different people involved in the purchasing decision, such as the head of security, marketing, finance and senior management. The trouble is, any of these people could potentially land up on the web site, so it was essential to understand the complete supply chain in order to ensure that the concerns of every visitor are addressed and that they find it easy to find the information they require in the language they understand.
Although it took a couple of days of discussions with the CEO, I think this time was well invested as it allowed me to be confident that content I wrote was targeted correctly and that the Information Architecture was appropriate. I enjoyed the challenge of going into a new business, developing an understanding of how their business works, and developing a solution to suit their needs. It was particularly rewarding as I was playing an unfamiliar role and yet still received very positive feedback about the end result.
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