component of what IE has become. Is its own website
a critical component of its brand? “IE’s website is our
shop front, so it’s a crucial tool for bringing new
business our way,” said Ollie. “As a digital agency, a
beautiful-looking, engaging website is an absolute
must, and we launched the current version in
January 2017.
“The website is home to a selection of in-depth
client case studies to show off our work. We also
publish regular blog posts, feature an extensive list of
our clients, and show the exceptional team at the
heart of IE.
“Keeping the site up-to-date with quality case
studies is the job of our Head of Marketing, who
works closely with our digital consultants and the
brand team to publish a selection of powerful work.
The whole team is encouraged to contribute articles
to the blog, from the Managing Director and
consultants to designers, developers and the
customer support team. We also publish many
downloadsthatactasleadgenerationtools,suchas
ourWebsiteBriefTemplate.”
Gainingnewclientscanbetackledfrommany
angles.OllieoutlinedIE’sapproach:“Manyofour
clientscometousviawordofmouth,”hesaid.“Past
andpresentclientsrecommendustotheirpeersin
otherorganisationsorgetbackintouchwhenthey
changeroles.
“Therestofourbusinessgenerallycomesviathe
website,oroffthebackofeventswe’veattended.We
oftenattendconferences– generallysector-focused- wherewe’llhavea speakingslottopresenta case
studyalongsidea client.Thesearea greatwayto
positionourselvesasexpertsandthoughtleaders.
Weregularlyhearfrompeoplewho’velistenedtous
attheseeventsandreturnedtousa fewyearslater
witha project.
Asitsplatformofchoice,theDrupal8 CRMcanbeseenin
actionacrossmanyofthesitesIEDigitalhascreated.Founder and MD, Ollie
Leggett using IE Digital’s
most essential piece of
cutting-edge technology.40 __________________________________________________profileI
E’s MD Ollie Leggett founded the agency
in 1994. Originally hailing from Cheshire,
he relocated to Birmingham City
University for a BA in Visual
Communication.
Having qualified with a PGCE, Ollie
worked as an art and design teacher
(GCSE) and a lecturer in graphic design
up to degree level, before deciding to
return to practicing his subject by starting his own
design business.
Ollie had a passion for helping values-driven
clients in the charity, health and education sectors to
connect with their audiences and gain access to the
industry’s best creatives – something that back then
was all-too-commonly only possible for big business.
By 2002, Ollie had recognised that digital
platforms were becoming one of the essential
expressions of a brand. Also, he was fed up of seeing
their work butchered by techies. IE bought a digital
agency with shared values to become the agency
they are today.
One of the first orders of business, when Ollie set
up IE, was the question of what to call his new
company. Ollie takes up the story: “IE is the
abbreviation for the Latin id est, meaning ‘that is’ or ‘in
other words.’ When IE Design Consultancy was
founded in 1994, we weren’t thinking about domain
names. The other IE, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer,
launched version one at around the same time, and
few people had any idea of what the internet was
about to become!”
He continues, “For many years we used the URL
iedesign.co.uk, and a few years ago we took the
decision to split our web presence across two
websites – iedigital.co.uk and iebrand.co.uk- each focused on one of our specialisms.
“As a brand consultancy, we always advise our
clients to only change their name if they can’t afford
not to. If, for example, the name has become a liability
or detracts from what you do. The IE name has
served us well, and we hold the trademark on our
beautiful logo, so we’ve no plans to change.”
Understanding how the internet was about to
transform brand communications was a central
Design Values