The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult is a group of manufacturing research centres based across the UK, each aimed at supporting businesses and organisations with different aspects of research, development and innovation.
VBX Agency has worked closely with the HVM Catapult marketing team and their centres since 2015. In 2018, we were asked to enhance their annual report by transforming two spreadsheets into compelling digital tools for their centres.
HVM Catapult’s annual report on the UK’s manufacturing output is read by a broad range of stakeholders including government departments, enterprise partnerships, academic institutions and manufacturing businesses.
The challenge was to transform complex data into engaging, user-friendly reports that could work across multiple platforms. VBX Agency conduced a full digital audit to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with online and off-line channels to ensure every platform’s version of the report was accessible.
Following this review, we built online, PDF and print versions of the report, each fitting in with the client’s preferred flat design approach. Uniquely, we created a linking device so that whichever version was viewed, it would look and feel exactly the same as the other versions.
To support SEO, we also took each of the report’s case studies and presented them as a blog series on the HVM website, giving each business involved an added online presence.
The report was well received by all stakeholders, and conducting a thorough digital audit led us to develop two unique online metal calculators that allow HVM users to identify their manufacturing processes. We continue to work reactively to the needs of the HVM Catapult and remain a key port of call for them and their centres.
