February 8, 2012

The Crest Nicholson iPad App: out-of-the-box thinking for off-plan sales

Posted by Virtual Viewing under 3d modelling, e-marketing, Uncategorized, web development | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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Sample Crest Nicholson iPad App Screen 1Virtual Viewing has been working closely with Crest Nicholson to produce a revolutionary new iPad app that transforms the delivery of off-plan property sales.

The new app uses touchscreen technology and the portability and ease of use of the tablet computer to seamlessly blend together a rich tapestry of information that incorporates

• development plans
• floorplans
• property specifications
• CGI images
• photos
• video and 3d animation.

Sample Crest Nicholson iPad App Screen 2Without the restrictions of print formats, every aspect of property sales can be presented in the way that is most compelling and captivating. As well as interactively displaying text and images, the app can also play video tours and 3d flythroughs, creating an immersive and dramatic environment that brings an enthralling and exciting realism.

Linked to wall-mounted flat-screen displays, the app can turn a site office visit into a persuasive cinematic experience. Taking the technology one-step beyond, the app can also control a physical model, using remotely controlled lighting to highlight different aspects and elements of a complex multi-phase development.

Sample Crest Nicholson iPad App Screen 3Linked to easily updated web-based admin systems to ensure the latest updates are automatically downloaded at every use, development, availability and property details are fully searchable by a range of criteria – property type, size, location, price, number of bedrooms, etc.

The app will continue to scale as further phases of the development are released for sale, with each phase viewable separately.

For more information, call Virtual Viewing on 01908 930 300.

 

April 8, 2011

Help with tasks, not tools

Posted by Virtual Viewing under content management, web development | Tags: , , , |
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Online systems – whether they manage websites or air-conditioning – are essentially software. While anyone working in IT will be familiar with the phrase “Read the manual”, many other people who’ve tried doing so have decided that was where their problem started. Or rather their second problem.

Traditional technical documentation has an unfortunate tendency to describe how to use software from the point of view of either the software or the people who wrote it. These aren’t usually people who need to add new sales brochures, announce special offers or the Christmas opening hours. They usually think in terms of database schemas or phrases like “enter an alphanumeric string of <80 characters; apply auto-truncation and disallow HTML tags”.

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September 22, 2010

yourpeoplemarket recruits the services of EMMA

Posted by Virtual Viewing under e-mail marketing, e-marketing, web development | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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yourpeoplemarket.comBased in Milton Keynes and founded by a team of recruitment experts, yourpeoplemarket.com is a new fixed fee online recruitment marketplace that connects employers and recruiters. Designed to take advantage of competitive market conditions, their online recruitment marketplace puts employers in control of the recruitment process, posting jobs at a fee they set, engaging with a recruitment community based on performance and complete transparency, and achieving significant cost savings.

As a company that has not only put marketplace transparency at the heart of recruitment – employers can, for example, rate recruiters on a range of criteria based on their own experience of using their services – www.yourpeoplemarket.com has brought a new approach to the online market whereby easy, quick data capture and the effective management of client communications is key to maintaining competitive advantage.

Yourpeoplemarket launch campaign emailIn light of this, yourpeoplemarket.com has adopted the services of Virtual Viewing’s EMMA (Email Marketing Assistant) email campaign and newsletter management system. Indeed, their use of EMMA has been both critical to the success of this young business and sophisticated in the use of some of EMMA’s more advanced features.

After initial consultation, during which we provided analysis and review of the initial yourpeoplemarket.com system build (focusing particularly on usability and functionality), we developed an HTML email newsletter template design that reinforced the website branding, and created an EMMA account.

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July 28, 2010

Virtual Viewing’s Interactive Development and Investment Website creates a splash

Posted by Virtual Viewing under 3d modelling, city models, content management, e-marketing, hosting, web development | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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The Ilford Blueprint websiteAs you may have already read in an earlier post, we were proud to recently jointly unveil the Ilford Blueprint website with our development partners in the Planning and Regeneration Unit at the London Borough of Redbridge.

The product of several months’ working in a highly embedded way with the Unit on a true joint venture basis, the site combines our OSCAR content management system for ease and flexibility of up-date with groundbreaking use of our 3d modelling technologies. The whole project was supported throughout by our skills in project management, place making and urban design, as well as our in-depth technical capabilities.

The result – in the words of Chris Berry, the Borough’s Chief Planning and Regeneration Officer – provides:

… focussed, reliable, detailed and accessible technical information to a level not previously provided by a local authority. Virtual Viewing’s contribution to the Borough initiative cannot be underestimated:  their services and capabilities extended far beyond technical expertise, to include 3d modelling, urban design and bringing reality to policy-making, all of which were provided as a true ‘joint venture’ operation.”

You can download (in PDF format) a copy of a promotional mailer that has subsequently been sent to several hundred members of the London investment and development community, providing a powerful testimonial for a project about which we are as proud as our development partners.

 

June 30, 2010

Massive Scale Modelling is a Massive Success

Posted by Virtual Viewing under 3d modelling, city models, content management, web development | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Responsible for inward investment and investor development, North London Business (NLB) is funded by both the London Development Agency and by Boroughs, and runs Property Linx conferences focused on maximising investment in infrastructure, residential and mixed used developments and allowing Boroughs to profile themselves to the investment community. Each conference attracts 200-350 invited property professionals, developers, agents, and landowners.

The most recent Property Linx conference, which was expanded to include an “Agents, Consultants and Contractors” corner, was held on 24 June 2010 with a focus on one of Virtual Viewing’s web development and 3d city modelling clients – the London Borough of Redbridge. Senior Borough politicians and staff from the Borough’s Planning and Regeneration team were among speakers at the event, which shone a spotlight on their plans for the development of Ilford Town Centre, its retail offering, quality of life and excellent transport connectivity.

The Invest Ilford WebsiteLondon Borough of Redbridge also used the event to launch a new website (opens in a new browser window), developed through a partnership with Virtual Viewing, that specifically targets property and investment professionals.

Fully manageable through our OSCAR content management solution, the fully bespoke site will enable the Borough to provide a wealth of up-to-date information on the local area (including demographic data and profiles of different property sectors).

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June 2, 2010

New 360 Play Website goes live!

Posted by Virtual Viewing under content management, e-mail marketing, hosting, search engine optimisation, web development | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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360 Play website Home PageVirtual Viewing has already worked with local children’s entertainment centre, 360 Play, since their launch in 2008, designing and developing their original website and subsequently introducing them to the power and possibilities of our EMMA Email Marketing Assistant solution to help them manage email marketing campaigns to promote their latest events and special offers.

We are proud to say that our partnership continues with the launch of a completely redesigned website (now online at www.360play.uk.com). Virtual Viewing worked closely with 360 Play’s branding and design managers to redevelop the site, which vividly expresses the colourful and playful world that greets visitors to the centre.

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June 2, 2010

Hold the Front Page: making a first impression

Posted by Virtual Viewing under content management, e-commerce, e-mail marketing, e-marketing, search engine optimisation, web development | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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If you follow the media’s coverage of the media itself, you’ll be aware of plans for some daily newspapers – currently available to read pretty much in their entirety free of charge online – to put their content behind ‘paywalls’. There are complex business reasons at play: newspapers are struggling financially as more of us get our news from the web. Google and other search engines make it easy to browse not just the country’s but the world’s newspapers in an instant. Indeed, people use Google – making Google profitable – to access newspapers online, who make nothing from the transaction. Old business models are being outstripped not just by technology, but by the way we use it.

But listening to James Hewitt, editor of The Times, being interviewed on The Today Programme recently, he raised a point that is hugely relevant to all websites – whether or not they charge for access beyond their first page. That first page – usually your Home Page – is not just a gateway: it’s also a lure to tempt people to explore further, and an advertisement for what they will find inside. Hewitt drew the comparison of a newsstand: customers see only the front page – and usually just the top half of it. That view must tempt them to buy the paper, confident about its content.

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April 26, 2010

Recent client website launches

Posted by Virtual Viewing under content management, e-marketing, hosting, web development | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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At Virtual Viewing, we work with companies and organisations of all sizes and in all sectors to develop websites that make the very most of the opportunities – and the budgets – that are available to each client.

We have worked with many of our clients over a number of years, building partnerships where we are able to combine our skills – not just in the technical aspects of development, but in using the in-built measurability of digital and online media to analyse online performance to offer recommendations that maximise the use of available resources – with our customers’ industry expertise to continuously refine and enhance their online presence.

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November 18, 2009

From cut’n’paste to rough’n’tumble: 21st century copyright

Posted by Virtual Viewing under web development | Tags: , |
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As you no doubt realised years ago, the digital era can make life quicker and easier in a lot of ways. (And our apologies to anyone reading this and suddenly remembering that call to a company who couldn’t help ‘because the computer was down’, or who’ve gone 15 rounds with a particularly interesting hardware installation.) One of the great advantages is the ease of creating copies. There’s no need to endlessly re-type the same paragraph. Two shakes of a mouse’s tail and voila! – you have an instant duplicate. Repeating (or revising) yourself has come a long way since the days of correction fluid, even if screen-sniffing may never catch on. Theft, however, is still theft.

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November 18, 2009

Now is the winter of our content management system …

Posted by OSCAR under content management, web development | Tags: , , , |
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‘Content is king’ is one of those Internet developer mantras that we’re never sure if our clients can hear us humming to ourselves under our breath. But it’s always one that’s worth remembering: no matter how much multimedia distraction you lard on top, a website with no worthwhile content is always going to be a case of the Emperor’s New Website. If your website is going to be a window to the rest of the world, it’s hard not to paraphrase the proverbial teenager’s mother’s cry to something like “Do you really want your company going out like that?

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