Subscribe to AfterDawn's weekly newsletter.
Etre Helps Rolex.com Catch the Creative Industry's Eye During Awards Season
LONDON, January 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Etre's cutting-edge eye tracking technology has helped Rolex sweep the board during the creative industry's web design awards season. Rolex's new site - http://www.rolex.com - scooped two Gold awards and six Silvers at the W3 Awards and took home a merit award in the "Best Consumer Website" category at the Creativity Awards to boot. The new website combines stunning graphics and rich media content to showcase the Rolex's iconic range of watches and highlight its long history of achievement, innovation and philanthropic activity. Experts had been tipping it to win major honours after it picked up several industry accolades earlier last year, including "Site of the Day" awards from Adobe, Favourite Web Awards and the Taxi Design Network. Critical Mass engaged Etre in late 2006 to assist in the delivery of Rolex's website by evaluating a series of hi-fidelity design prototypes it had been developing. Each prototype mimicked the functionality of a real-life Rolex website, but incorporated different photographic, video, audio and text components and adopted different page layouts, navigation systems and branding elements. Critical Mass tasked Etre with identifying the most effective aspects of these designs so that they could be carried forward into the final version of the Rolex website. In order to achieve this objective, Etre conducted an extensive eye tracking evaluation of the prototypes at its research facilities in London and New York. The study saw 60 users - carefully selected so as to be representative of Rolex's target markets - attempt a series of real-life tasks with the designs. During each session, Etre's cutting-edge eye tracking equipment quietly monitored what users looked at - and what they missed. These data were invaluable in addressing questions relating to the positioning, visibility and attractiveness of the prototypes' various design components. "Our eye tracking technology let us climb inside the users' heads and see the prototypes through their eyes," said Paul Schwartfeger, Managing Director of Etre. "After analysing the data at the end of the study, we were able to provide numerous insights into Rolex users' behaviours and thought processes. "For example, by examining their eye fixations and the dilation of their pupils, we were able to tell which images they found engaging - and which they didn't. And by monitoring their eye movements we were able to determine the amount of copy they read and establish items they found difficult to absorb. This information simply couldn't have been obtained by any other means and allowed us to provide Critical Mass with clear, objective design direction as a result." Critical Mass used Etre's findings and recommendations to inform the development of a landmark in web design. The new Rolex website, launched in February 2007, combines elegant photography with rich functionality - capturing the spirit of the Rolex brand to perfection. (In keeping with the company's tradition of precision engineering, the watch that appears on the website's homepage displays the current time to the second!) "All the plaudits should go to Rolex and the Critical Mass team. They've created a truly stunning website that sets a new standard for the luxury goods industry to aspire to," said Schwartfeger, "We're just delighted to have been able to contribute." "Etre's eye tracking expertise was invaluable to us," said Jaime Wood, Account Manager for Critical Mass. "The team's experience, professionalism and commitment, combined with their willingness to go above and beyond what was expected of them, ensured that our relationship was a success." Notes for Editors The W3 Awards honours creative excellence on the web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning sites, videos and marketing programs. It is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a "Who's Who" of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms. Rolex.com scooped two Gold awards in the "Branding" and "Homepage" categories and a further six Silver awards. See http://www.w3award.com/ for more information. Created in conjunction with the pioneering Art Direction magazine, the Creativity Awards is one of the longest running international design competitions. For 38 years, this institution has honoured the outstanding work of creative professionals in every discipline including print design, advertising design and web design. In addition to achieving industry recognition award winners' work is also reproduced in the Creativity Awards Annual which is published and distributed by HarperCollins Publishers. Rolex.com received a "Merit" in the "Best Consumer Website" category. See http://www.creativityawards.com/ for more information. Rolex.com was the Favourite Web Awards' Site of the Day on 14th March 2007. Forbes magazine refers to FWA as "one of the Web's top recognition sites for innovative Web design". See http://www.thefwa.com/ for more information. Rolex.com was Adobe's Site of the Day on 8th February 2007. See http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/showcase/index.cfm?event=sotdarchive&year=2007&month=2&loc=en_us for more information. Rolex.com was the Taxi Design Network's Site of the Day on 10th March 2007. The Taxi Design Network is "the world's most updated news source for the creative industry". See http://www.designtaxi.com/wotd.jsp?&monthview=1&month=3&year=2007 for more information. About The Rolex Company Rolex has been the pre-eminent symbol of performance and prestige for over a century. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with 28 affiliates worldwide and relying on 4,000 watchmakers in over 100 countries, Rolex continues to expand its long history of achievement and innovation. For additional information, visit http://www.rolex.com. About Critical Mass Critical Mass is an interactive services firm that architects innovative marketing solutions to help the world's leading companies increase revenues, reduces costs and deepen customer relationships. We have designed and built Web sites and customer experience management programs for clients such as Dell, Mercedes-Benz USA, Procter and Gamble, Albertsons, Andersen Windows, and many others. Founded in 1995, Critical Mass has offices in Calgary and Toronto, Canada, as well as Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Austin. For additional information, visit http://www.criticalmass.com. Critical Mass is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) http://www.omnicomgroup.com. Omnicom is a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. About Etre Etre is a digital communications agency specialising in results-driven user experience design. Etre works with multinational corporations, central government departments, local authorities and not-for-profit organisations to maximise their websites' usability, accessibility and findability. Recent clients include Anglo American, British Council, Deloitte, English Partnerships, Eurostar, Mars, Mencap and Ogilvy. For additional information, visit: http://www.etre.com. About Eye Tracking Etre's eye tracking service lets you to climb inside users heads and see your website through their eyes. For more information about eye tracking - including a video of the technology in action - visit: http://www.etre.com/usability/eyetracking/.






