The Worx Group Newsletter
Creative Energy
Developing a Better Website for Better Female Sports Apparel
The Worx Group Scores Big with New Ballgirl Athletic Website
Chris Rinaldi with Scarlett Fontneau
Looking to create a buzz around its products, Ballgirl Athletic brought in the The Worx Group to develop a marketing-infused ecommerce website to promote the company's female athletic apparel. Ballgirl Athletic, a burgeoning company that offers female athletic apparel designed by women for women, contracted The Worx Group to convey the passion behind their products online. Our challenge was clear: build an exciting website that would create a buzz around the apparel. "Female athletes should be asking for Ballgirl by name" became our mantra. We knew this would not be a run-of-the-mill redesign. We needed to create a website that reflected the energy associated with female athletics. To kick off this project, The Worx Group uncovered needs and opportunities for Ballgirl Athletic during an intensive marketing session with the company's management and marketing personnel. The face-to-face meeting proved invaluable in assessing Ballgirl's brand and market, products and services, as well as strengths and weaknesses. From this discussion, we were able to determine a sound plan for targeting the end users and the decision makers with buying power for the website. The functionality is so engaging that beyond our marketing promotions, the Design-Your-Own Uniform functionality caught on and spread fast by word of mouth
— Viral Marketing at its best! |
"I told the folks at The Worx Group that girls really prefer our apparel to the other big brands, because we have former athletes and female designers creating the uniforms," commented Henry Norley, Jr., General Manager of Ballgirl Athletic. "We just needed a way to get that message out there... and I think The Worx Group delivered." Combining vibrant design and engaging technology, The Worx Group developed the Ballgirl Athletic website to be as energetic as its customers. Upon arriving at the brightly colored website, the visitor is greeted with the sights and sounds of a Shockwave Flash-powered introduction - complete with an embellished Ballgirl logo, artistic renditions of athletes and real-life photos of female competitors set in motion to music. The tagline "designed by women for women" is complemented by the positioning statement "Performance. Fit. Comfort." A female narrator asks, "What makes Ballgirl Athletic apparel better?" inviting the site visitor to click on a "View Demo" button to learn more. The demo continues selling through the senses, as the viewer is treated to a full-fledged PowerShow, featuring seamless animation of photos and vector-based art all set to a soundtrack reminiscent of a high-energy sports drink commercial. Using a purposeful mesh of audio and video, the PowerShow emphasizes the company's call to action - look good, feel great, play better! The lasting impression is that Ballgirl uniforms are better, because the tops and bottoms are made specifically for women to succeed. At the conclusion of the presentation, the viewer is prompted to shop online through a simple click. "The idea was for the initial Flash to entice the casual visitor to click the demo to learn more," remarked Tom Peterson, Managing Member of The Worx Group. "We knew if we could get them to view the PowerShow, we could sell them on this superior product and get them to shop online." As important as the creative design, the powerful website is search-engine friendly and features superior usability. The website boasts a full ecommerce engine, so athletes and coaches can order Basketball, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Softball, Tennis, Soccer and Lacrosse uniforms online. Another major draw to the website is the cool, fully-interactive Design-Your-Own-Uniform capability. The user selects a particular design style to use as a blank template. By just pointing and clicking, the user can paint her custom jersey on the screen in real time. Once the user creates the perfect color combination, ordering is just another click away. Teams are able to design and order jerseys right on the website. The functionality is so engaging that beyond our marketing promotions, the Design-Your-Own Uniform functionality caught on and spread fast by word of mouth - viral marketing at its best! Now that Ballgirl Athletic is selling online doesn't mean the company is neglecting its current distribution channel. We've built a dealer registration area solely for authorized Ballgirl Athletic dealers to get discounted pricing throughout the website. Dealers can log in to see the reduced rates available to them and place bulk orders with ease. Driving many users to the redesigned website included a relatively inexpensive email marketing campaign. An easy-to-use contact form on the new website captures email addresses and other information from opt-in users who sign up to receive the Ballgirl Athletic electronic newsletter. Our web-based email system allows Ballgirl to easily administer and send out massive amounts of pertinent, unique messages to coaches, dealers, and athletes. The bright and spirited design of the newsletter complements the reinvigorated look and feel of the new website. The e-newsletter has proven to be an effective tool in assuring return visitors to the website and online catalog. The new Ballgirl Athletic site launched earlier this year to the delight of its target audience of female athletes - and its company's owner. Brand awareness is up and overall sales are showing a positive trend for Ballgirl Athletic since the advent of the site. The Worx Group was successful in creating a website that combines the creativity of current technology, smart design and proper messaging to deliver an exciting, interactive ecommerce initiative. Check the Ballgirl Athletic website out at www.BallgirlAthletic.com. Back to Main Page Related Links | 
