Bristol digital agency e3 has deployed the latest digital thinking to launch a website for the Royal Navy which aims to give the public a better understanding of what it does and why it should matter to them.
Targeted at multiple audiences, www.royalnavy.mod.uk charts the story of the 500-year-old Senior Service and sheds light on its various roles such as security on the seas and preventing conflict.
E3 has been retained by the Navy since 2011 as its lead digital agency, initially to maintain and evolve its existing site. It is now working as the Navy’s industry partner on its digital and social media strategy and development.
The launch of the site is the culmination of the agency’s insight in to the service as an organisation – a journey that began with the e3 team spending a week on board HMS Sutherland, which gave them a deep understanding of its challenges. 
Captain Ian Stidston of the Royal Navy said: “Obviously most people have heard of the Royal Navy, but when it comes to understanding what our purpose is, we’re faced with this ‘sea-blindness’ around what we do.
Pictured: The e3 team salutes its work on the new Navy site
“Added to the communications challenge is the fact that we have a number of different audiences to serve; our service people, and the wider community – their families and veterans, opinion leaders, news outlets and of course, potential recruits.
“Our reinvigorated digital presence allows us to demonstrate the value of the Royal Navy to the public who support us and aids the recruitment of quality candidates to support our future success.”
The new, responsive site uses storytelling to capture the interest and imagination of users across six core themes that bring to life what the Royal Navy does, while stories on the new Queen Elizabeth carrier, for example, are presented in Sunday supplement style layouts.
The site also maximises use of video, evocative music and ‘mini drama’ cinema-style shorts. With potential recruits a key audience for the site, there are nearly 90 case study style interview videos with Naval personnel in jobs ranging from Royal Marines commando to service band musician.
E3 managing director Neil Collard said: “Despite the diversity of audiences involved, everyone – whether they are 16 or 60, potential recruit or government official – will connect with a good story. And rather than bombard people, our mantra when developing the Royal Navy site was very much ‘bigger, better, fewer’.
“While it’s good news that more and more organisations are focussing on content, the challenge is not to confuse quality with quantity. For example, where previously the Navy was producing upwards of 20 news stories a day, the new strategy is centred on producing less, better quality content which has a much longer shelf live.”
E3, based at Paintworks, has grown to become one of the UK’s leading independent digital agencies. Among Bristol’s first digital agencies, it employs more than 60 specialists across its Bristol and London studios working with clients such as Kia, Orange, Royal Navy, Clarks and the National Trust.
