Pixel Kicks

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Disruptive Learning of University Academy 92 (UA92)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

University Academy 92 (UA92) is a deliberately different and game-changing higher education establishment located at a new campus in Old Trafford, Manchester, offering apprenticeships and degrees awarded by Lancaster University. Co-founded by the infamous Manchester United legends the Class of 92 (Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt), and Lancaster University, UA92 offers character and personal development at the core of their learning experience. 

UA92 aims to develop students’ resilience, alongside their ability to solve problems and face challenges and aims to prepare them for life. UA92 challenges traditional university conventions to transform the educational landscape.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Pixel Kicks to accomplish?

• Develop a game changing and deliberately different website for a university.
• Enhance website analytics.
• Organise a large sitemap in way that’s easy to navigate.
• Undertake an in-depth technical SEO audit.
• Improve engagement for all of our stakeholders and partners.

SOLUTION

How did you find Pixel Kicks?

Referral

Why did you select Pixel Kicks over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Pixel Kicks were assigned to this project?

4

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

We recognised that the previous UA92 website wasn't effectively engaging our audiences, falling short of our expectations. That’s why we reached out to Pixel Kicks for a website that not only responds swiftly but also provides an intuitive user experience tailored to our diverse content needs, facilitating a smoother navigation for users. 

Our project objectives focused on attracting more prospective students, user and partners to the site to boost engagements, enhancing the site's functionality, and amplifying our brand visibility.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Increase in organic website traffic. Higher user engagement and significantly improved user feedback.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Before the project started we had two in-depth project workshops. Following on from this their team stayed in close contact with us, giving us regular updates through their project management system. The service from Pixel Kicks was very on-hand, and they were always available for a call to discuss certain elements in more detail.

What was your primary form of communication with Pixel Kicks?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The company's dedication to not just meeting but exceeding customer expectations is something I haven't seen matched elsewhere.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Pixel Kicks could have done differently?

An excellent project delivered on time meeting all of our needs. Well done to all involved!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing for Steroplast Healthcare, a medical products manufacturer and wholesaler. We also have a subbrand called Sterosport, focused on the sports health sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pixel Kicks?

We launched our subbrand a couple of years ago, and it had a very basic website. Thus, we wanted to create a brand new, bespoke-designed website that enabled us to compete effectively against our competitors within our sector.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pixel Kicks has built a new website for us on WordPress. Before engaging with them, we worked with our internal SEO consultants and talked with a lot of people within our industry to create a detailed project brief.

Given that we wanted to do things differently, we wanted to implement functionalities on our website that our competitors didn’t have. For example, we requested bespoke price lists tailored to every customer so that they could log in and see our products at a special price for them only. Additionally, we requested a very clear website so that our customers from different sports sectors could easily target the subcategory of products they were looking for.

Thus, after briefing Pixel Kicks, we spent some time working with them on understanding how to make our complex site work in a very easy and clear way for our users. Then, they came back to us with a design and a layout for our website. After we approved it, they built it.

We have a program called Injury Rehab Network, which is a monthly networking event that we host. Thus, in addition to the requested features, Pixel Kicks has helped us build a part of our website dedicated to this program. It includes the calendar, the upcoming events, and all of the content related to the program. Additionally, they’ve helped us create a blog as part of our content strategy.

Pixel Kicks has already delivered the website, but we now have them on a retainer contract, and they’re responsible for hosting our website.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Dan (Junior Web Developer), Fred (Project Coordinator), Chris (Founder), Turhan (Web Team Manager), and Dominic (Technical Support & Web Developer).

How did you come to work with Pixel Kicks?

We found Pixel Kicks by searching for web designers in Manchester; they came in second place in the Google search results. We shopped around for a few other agencies, but Pixel Kicks stood out from the rest because they seemed very enthusiastic, up to the challenge, and capable of achieving our goals.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around £28,000 (approximately $35,000 USD) on the website development. Our retainer contract costs around £450 (approximately $560 USD) per month, and it includes 3 hours of development work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2021. The development project lasted about four months, but our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Since our new website has gone live, we’ve seen an increase in our traffic. Additionally, we’ve developed a much better relationship with some of our partners, meeting our purpose of providing our B2B clients with a platform where they can get their bespoke prices by simply logging in. This feature is unique in the industry, allowing us to differentiate ourselves from competitors in the eyes of our partners and potential clients.

In addition to that, the Injury Rehab Network part of our site has helped us grow our networking events. Furthermore, the flexibility of our website allows our internal team of designers and content marketers to add pages, change the content, build landing pages, and more.

The website that we had before was extremely cluttered and confusing because it was very challenging to target all the different sports we focused on. However, we now have a very clear product section on our site where users can search by product but also by sport. Additionally, it is now very clear how we serve each individual segment, and our website’s layout helps us target the right people and send the right message — we’re extremely happy about that.

How did Pixel Kicks perform from a project management standpoint?

Pixel Kicks is very friendly, hardworking, and flexible; overall, they’re a pleasure to work with. We initially came to them with a very challenging brief, and they told us that they liked challenges. Eventually, they proved that to be true by achieving our objectives.

Whenever we have any issues related to the services they now provide us with the retainer agreement, they solve them within hours. We use Basecamp to manage the project and communicate. They keep everything well-organized there, with tasks categorized into different to-do lists and priority levels. Still, if we need to discuss something in detail, we hop onto a Zoom meeting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive aspect of working with Pixel Kicks has been their ability to take a very complicated and confusing brief and find a way to translate it into a well-organized and user-friendly website. They’ve delivered a product much better than we could have ever imagined.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. Any issues we’ve seen throughout the project, Pixel Kicks has solved them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Pixel Kicks is up for a challenge, so be creative and try to think of the best product you want as a result. If you only think about having a very basic website, you’ll be missing an opportunity.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Digital Transformation Lead of Avalon Funeral Plans

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Avalon Funeral Plans provide pre-paid funeral plan products for customers across the UK and in Spain, Portugal and Cyprus.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Pixel Kicks to accomplish?

• To build a new website

SOLUTION

How did you find Pixel Kicks?

Referral

Why did you select Pixel Kicks over others?

Pricing first our budget, Great culture fit, Referred to me, Other

What was your primary form of communication with Pixel Kicks?

Virtual Meeting, Email or Messaging App

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To design and build a new website for Avalon Funeral Plans

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Website delivered on time and in budget
• Website designed to meet the brief

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

the team was highly proactive throughout the partnership and regular comms helped to manage expectations and stay on track

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

great work ethic, great knowledge and ideas

Are there any areas for improvement or something Pixel Kicks could have done differently?

There was nothing they needed to improve on.