"The website development work from it’seeze is always fantastic. If there is something we want to achieve with our website, we often don’t even know if it’s possible. But we do know that we can chat it through with our local consultant, and he will work with the it’seeze web developers to make it happen.
We know he must be busy, but no matter how busy he is, he always picks up the phone, always answers emails. He always makes us feel like a priority and nothing is ever an issue. Really, he’s just become an extension of our team. Him being local and being able to pop in if we want him to is such a bonus."
Leah Dever - Licensing Manager, Those Licensing People
The client
Two Near The Bone is a Roobarb and Custard themed pet food emporium created by licensing agency Those Licensing People (TLP). As an agency specialising in classic character brands, TLP knew they wanted to do something special with this little piece of British animation history.
Rather than taking the usual B2B licensing route, they decided to innovate by going directly to the customer with a new pet food range in the Roobarb and Custard brand.
Having found it’seeze online after a word of mouth recommendation, TLP made contact with their local consultant and arranged to meet him at a local pub to get the ball rolling.
“We had a really strong idea of what we wanted, but not how to get there. We knew we wanted to animate our image assets but had no idea how to make that happen. We also knew that we wanted the back end to integrate with our supplier’s back end to make the checkout process really clean and easy. It’s something we could never have achieved by ourselves. We’ve built websites before, but these things were beyond our capabilities. It’s where it’seeze really came into their element. They knew exactly what to do and made us feel confident about our choices, right from the start.”
Leah Dever - Licensing Manager, Those Licensing People
The website
The Two near the Bone website has a distinctive look in line with a carefully defined brand image, and all designs were created by TLP. This meant it’seeze’s focus was on building a website with the right functionality, capable of delivering the customer experience TLP required.
The website created by it’seeze for TLP and Two near the Bone is completely bespoke. Unlike many other website builders, it’seeze only ever creates unique sites, never from templates. It meant that the quirky designs and distinctive branding could be properly incorporated without compromise - giving the Roobarb and Custard pet food emporium the online showcase it deserves.
With product development ongoing and TLP still building the Two Near the Bone brand, the it’seeze subscription model works perfectly for the agency. It gives them the flexibility and confidence to change their website as their business evolves - to add features and make tweaks, safe in the knowledge that they have ongoing support from their local consultant and the it’seeze team. From tying down the initial specification, through to adding new features and tweaking content, the team at TLP regularly call on their local consultant for help. They also have technical support from it’seeze’s HQ team wherever they need it.
We talked about support requirements and the it’seeze pricing model before we met. For Leah and Russell at TLP, the nature of our relationship works brilliantly; ongoing support was something they knew they wanted. The whole project was, and continues to be, really collaborative - so the ‘pay as you go’ style agreement keeps on delivering real value for the client.
TLP's local it’seeze consultant
The build
The Two Near The Bone website was completed and live in 16 working days. With branding and design supplied by the client, the it’seeze team was focused on creating a website that worked perfectly and would do justice to the brilliant branding and high quality product on offer.
We worked closely with the designers at Those Licensing People to create the website exactly as they envisioned, while also using our technical and creative flair to implement exciting and unusual features for the customised online shop. This included bespoke touches like the animated logo, and styled tables and forms - which all came together to create a highly personalised, professional looking website that really sells the business and their products.
Ceri Woolway, it’seeze designer
While the Two Near the Bone online store looks very simple and provides customers with a straightforward and seamless buying experience, behind the scenes there’s a lot going on. The website is integrated with the product manufacturer’s systems and orders are placed directly with them, while always keeping Leah and her team in the loop so that they can iron out any issues, should they arise. It’s a website that continues to evolve over time. Since the initial build, functionality has been updated and extended as the product range has grown and TLP’s needs have changed.
“I stay in regular contact with TLP to make sure their website does everything they need it to do. 16 working days is always the lead time for an it’seeze website, regardless of the size or complexity of the project, and this project was no different. However, since the initial handover, the TLP team have intermittently requested new features, like gateways and tracking codes. Each time they want to do this, they simply get in touch and we work collaboratively to make it happen.”
TLP's local it’seeze consultant
The results
The Two near the Bone pet food emporium website went live in October 2019 and, after ironing out a few packaging issues, the TLP team began active marketing of the Roobarb and Custard range in March 2020. With website traffic and interest rising - and more people shopping for essentials from home since the Coronavirus crisis began - TLP are now introducing a subscription model for customers who want to be able to receive top ups of their favourite dog food without having to place a new order.
This will mean reshaping the customer journey and adapting the functionality of the website - so that it integrates with the business’ payment gateway as well as the manufacturer’s systems. It’s something that the it’seeze team are taking care of, meaning TLP can concentrate on doing what they do best: spreading the word about this exciting new licensed brand.
I have to say that I’ve loved the way this project has gone. From the beginning, the ease of the two-way communication and collaboration has made it a joy to work on. The website looks great and has some brilliant features; including animation up front and integration behind the scenes. It’s so simple for the customer but does everything the client needs it to do. Those Licensing People is a business that really understands the value of a good website and is willing to invest in it. As their consultant, I’m really proud of the outcome.
TLP's local it’seeze consultant
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