The brand centres on creating high quality experiences in Nottingham, working with new writing and high profile talent to create new work.
Alongside the website project, Nottingham Playhouse were switching their CRM and ticketing to Spektrix.
After the team’s initial visit to Nottingham in February the Coronavirus pandemic hit, and challenged our ways of working. We were lucky to visit to kick off our research and were able to gain a valuable insight into the organisation. But by the time we were presenting designs travelling was out of the question.
Launching the site whilst working remotely
We took our lead from the visual styling that had been put in place by their previous design agency, and we worked with the visual identity presented by their in-house designer.
We were able to adapt our process to the new working conditions and worked through the design process to create a flexible and adaptive site. It was clear that the balance of produced work and visiting shows meant that the site had lots of different needs.
Specific filters implemented for their variety of events
Work with the community is also hugely important to the organisation and needed flexibility for the different kinds of work in that sphere.
The modular approach to page designs allowed for the breadth of this work to be showcased effectively.
The continuing uncertainty caused by Covid-19 meant that the launch of the site was delayed. However we were thrilled to launch at the same time as their new branding, and as Nottingham Playhouse announced their Unlocked Season – an innovative festival of new writing to be performed to socially distanced audiences at the same time as live streaming to homes.
Announcement of Unlocked
This adaptive approach to the pandemic reflected the artistic vision perfectly. The team worked with local and more high profile theatre makers to create the season, which could then reach much further than the area of Nottingham.
The launch of the website as the first touchpoint for the new brand was a perfect transition, with smooth communications from the Nottingham team to handle the switch. Audiences found the new site so easy to use which generated lots of goodwill towards the new brand. A great example of how all interactions with an organisation add up to audiences feelings towards them.
The modular design meant it was easily adapted for the new circumstances Nottingham Playhouse reopened to, social distancing and online performances could be clearly communicated.
Modular blocks
Cog were the perfect partners for launching our new website, working through the fine details to help get the best out of our new Spektrix box office system. Our audiences love our new site and they’re so pleased to be able to book tickets or donate so easily.
A huge success of the new site has been the increase in donations. We utilised the Spektrix custom basket functionality to build a bespoke basket page. This integreation allowed the Nottingham Playhouse team to communicate specific donation messaging, and made donating much simpler for bookers. During the Unlocked Festival this meant 22% bookers donated within the purchase path, resulting in £9500 of donations.
We’ve been hugely proud to deliver a site that matches Nottingham Playhouse’s ambitions and to support their reopening in this tough year.
Donation block
Content Management System: WordPress
Ticketing: Spektrix
Launched: September 2020
