A maximum-engagement, content-rich website for a global brand in weight loss

The client:
Celebrity Slim is a large Melbourne-based manufacturer and marketer of a meal replacement program for weight management that has achieved remarkable sales success since coming to market. The product range, which targets women from 30-45 years, is sold exclusively through Priceline/Priceline Pharmacies in Australia and other retail partners in the UK and Ireland.

The trigger:
Celebrity Slim recognised that women see “level of support” as a key driver for successful weight loss. Celebrity Slim envisioned a website with an interactive members’ area offering sales support and the opportunity to build strong relationships with (and between) customers. The existing website no longer reflected the enterprise’s brand image, so a decision was made to procure a fresh website with the functionality to meet business imperatives and a visual style befitting a dynamic, international brand.

The journey:
Celebrity Slim engaged DDG to develop its new online presence.

During the consultative phase a number of core ideas and development essentials were identified: 

• level of Interactivity would be critical to the website’s success
• testimonials are a strong sales driver in the weight loss industry
• opportunities to “share your story” and “share your journey” are powerful connectors for people on weight loss programs
• the website would need to “fit” the UK and Ireland (and possibly broader) markets, with minimal augmentation
• the development timeframe would be tight due to the need to coincide with the Celebrity Slim’s major promotional campaign featuring, Trinny and Susannah.

The solution:
The solution features a high level of customisation and innovative features.

In a novel approach, the home page is menu-free, instead using imagery and hot buttons to lead through to members area (with complete online weight loss support program), competitions, promotions, tips, forums, online shop, FAQ’s, product info, recipes and more. Secondary pages deliver their information through central panels, while the side panels reiterate the home page’s visual direction cues.

The visual design encapsulates the Celebrity Slim brand, using positive people and product images, punchy copy and snippets, and an unmistakably feminine focus.

The site’s special features include:

• Members’ Dashboard - Users can personalise their online experience with a customisable dashboard featuring “drag and drop” widgets. They can choose to customise this page by selecting from available widgets, including Forums, BMI Calculator, Featured Tips, Featured Recipes, Quick Stats, Weekly Diary, My Progress and more. To each user, having a personalised dashboard is a little like having their own web page, dedicated to their own personal weight loss journey. 
• Members’ Forums – Provides a member-only opportunity to connect with a community of peers and build relationships with others trying to lose weight. The forums are easy to access and navigate, are moderated and designed to incorporate the posts from users in Australia, the UK and Ireland in one global community. 
• Multi-national but mono-hosted – The Australian site has been replicated for the UK and Irish markets with very minor adjustments (including imperial measurements and retailer information). The three sites are hosted from the one central server and a tailored content management system automatically updates all three sites in tandem, refining the information to the specific country’s language conventions.

The client perspective:
Since its launch in January, the Celebrity Slim website has taken the weight loss world by storm. Feedback from customers has been remarkable with many reporting they have the site configured as their home page for easy access when connecting to the Internet.

The figures support that feedback – 16,000 confirmed members have already signed up to the site internationally. The Australian site alone achieves around 7,000 unique visitations each day.

The forums are a huge success with active members posting daily and providing one another with the support that is such a big part of weight loss psychology – just as Celebrity Slim envisioned, their customers are using the forums to create a global community of support where members feel a sense of belonging.

Celebrity Slim plans to build on the initial momentum and optimise the loyalty of their very-engaged customers by enhancing the site even further. A Celebrity Slim 4Him section has been incorporated and a series of six new dashboard widgets is already in development. And that’s just the beginning.

Visit their website at http://www.celebrityslim.com.au

Testimonial
“We wanted to have Australia’s best website for weight loss and, with DDG’s help, we feel we have achieved that – a fully-contained site that gives us enormous credibility within a very competitive marketplace. It leaves no doubt that we are an international brand.

From the start it was evident that the DDG team knew what they were doing. We worked collaboratively to turn our marketing ideas and imperatives into technical reality. We found that with DDG ‘anything is possible’ – if we could think it, they could translate it to the site. They were never fazed by the many intricate details we had on our wish list.

We are extremely happy with the process and the results and excited about working with DDG on the next few phases we already have planned for the site. It’s very much a case of watch this space.”

April Taylor, Online Brand Manager, Celebrity Slim