Diageo

Best corporate website

Diageo’s corporate website has dramatically changed over the past year. Gone is the functional corporate site, and in its place is a dynamic, future-ready platform designed to create value for the drinks business, improve reputation and add stakeholder value.

Operating in more than 180 countries, Diageo’s digital presence needed to meet the expectations of a diverse and sophisticated global audience. It has been designed to meet the three Ms: Memorable. Motivating. Meaningful.

Memorable
Bold editorial layouts, immersive brand category pages and strong storytelling are the hallmarks of the new site. Each brand has its own page, highlighting its history, occasionally with a dip into the archives, and recent innovations, as well as related news stories and social media channels.

Motivating
Nowhere is this more true than in the investor section, where visitors can catch up on webcasts of recent announcements, and check out all the recent reports and releases in one place. Interactive templates ensure consistency. And a section on careers offers job seekers a chance to explore Diageo’s purpose and culture, while explaining the range of opportunities available.

Meaningful
Complex corporate information is distilled into simple, readable content, while information on ESG strategy and sustainability, for example, is presented in an accessible, impactful way.

The transformation was guided by three principles. The content had to be clear, authoritative and transparent, supporting investor confidence and regulatory compliance. All storytelling needed to be captivating, using strong narrative and imagery, video and interactive design. The website also had to remember the needs of the different stakeholders, ranging from investors to media to potential job seekers, at all times.

The results since launch have proved encouraging, with a 26.2 per cent increase in active users. Visitors now spend 11 per cent more time engaging with content, while sessions have risen by 18.9 per cent and engagement 8.7 per cent, reflecting improved UX and mobile optimisation.

The judges loved the ‘user friendly and engaging’ site, which ‘encourages audiences to read more and dig deeper through eye-catching imagery, strong story-telling and immersive brand category pages’.

Agency: IDX