Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway is a Light Railway system serving the East London area as part of the vital public transportation services provided by Transport for London.
DLR engaged Appius in 2001 as their strategic web provider, and we have delivered the entire DLR web communications strategy until the present day through a consultative relationship based on results.
Objectives
- to ensure that DLR web communications are innovative and cost-effective, taking into account worldwide best practise and audience ideas and feedback
- to provide a highly accessible web presence to a variety of audiences within the travelling public
- to increase awareness of DLR services and therefore passenger levels
- to promote the use of DLR for off peak, tourist and commuter travel
- to gather customer data for pro-active web communications
- to deliver on vital educational, local community and development projects communication objectives
Appius originally delivered a self contained website for DLR including a powerful mix of sales and service features, based on thorough User Experience processes including analysis of site statistics and transportation industry best practise. Our support has continued to re-define DLR's web presence in line with Transport for London guidelines demanding the highest levels of Accessibility and content management.
Website functionality aimed at commuters included real time train departures information, a commuter hub page, email disruption alerts, detailed train times information and e-commerce for tickets.
Daily off peak travel is promoted with destination information including lunchtime and evening venues with integrated email campaigns and an innovative content management solution empowering marketing partners such as Tour East London to add and maintain venues information.
DLR's tourist marketing objectives are achieved with Pay-Per-Click advertising based around destination searches such as the Tower of London, raising awareness of the DLR as a mode of travel and providing links to pages on how to get to the destinations. The DLR Amazing Days Planner lets families plan a day out on the DLR using this interactive itinerary building tool, incorporating calculated travel and visit times in a personalised and printable form.
Appius' website Development work has been based on an extensive programme of long term 'Horizon Study' work to define DLR's 3-5 year web communications strategy, supplemented by ongoing Usability Testing and Usage Analytics campaigns to gain user input to improvements and future ideas.
Results
- Increase in visitor levels from 15,000 – 88,000 per month
- Visitor levels to commuter section increased by 50%
- Off- peak features receive 10’000 visits per month
- Successful generation of extensive customer mailing lists for news and disruptions alerts
- Usability Testing achieved 40% uplift in usage of certain areas through navigational changes
- Usage Analytics insights have re-focused content management effort into popular areas and to achieve dramatic conversion improvements for key online tasks
- Measurable reduction in customer service enquiries
- Dramatic communication efficiencies achieved through on-line Development Projects sections, Online Press Room solution and general conversion from offline marketing to lower digital marketing spend
Testimonial
"DLR needed a complete web communications provider with a highly consultative and results driven approach and Appius have consistently delivered online return-on-investment against our objectives across the last 6 years. We provide an essential public service and the standards of Appius service have been exceptional throughout, most notably in our times of greatest need during the London bombings and as part of our obligation to deliver new versions of our web presence in line with Transport for London projects".
Sarah Allen, Marketing and PR Manager
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