'Oceans of Possibilities'
Damen Shipyards is undergoing a digital transformation process in collaboration with digital agencies One Shoe, Born05 and Iquality. From the central brand idea 'Oceans of Possibilities', strengthened by the digital changes in the world and the digital needs of the customer, the international shipyard group wants to offer its target groups a richer and digital customer experience and therefore wants to make optimal use of modern digital possibilities. Part of this digital transformation is the updated Damen.com website, which went live on September 30, 2021.
In this video, Mathilde Meeuwis (Customer Experience Manager at Damen Shipyards), Ronald Nieuwenhuis (Team lead at Iquality) and Merel IJpelaar (Online Marketeer at Iquality) tell you more about the digital omnichannel platform of Damen Shipyards and the implementation of Storyblok.
About Damen
Damen Shipyards Group is active worldwide in the field of maritime solutions through the design, construction, conversion and repair of ships and ship components. Damen Shipyards' digital channels are of great strategic importance for the further expansion of their market position and for the further strengthening of their brand. With the digital transition to an omnichannel customer approach, a composable digital experience platform, and the transition to one central brand idea 'oceans of possibilities', a complete digital transition and the online future of Damen have been started.
“Our digital transformation program is aimed at putting our customer first through all channels, so both through our strong physical sales and through the various digital channels. We want to inspire, bind and encourage our customers or relations and interested parties to enter into a relationship with Damen at every moment in the customer journey in all channels," says Mathilde Meeuwis - Bokhoven, Customer Experience Manager - Damen.
Innovation from different perspectives
Through the collaboration of the various parties, all visual, strategic and technical aspects have come together that will realize a bright digital future for Damen and, moreover, it offers the customer a strong and positive experience.
The digital transformation started with the development of a new brand identity by Digital Branding Agency Born05. Timo Wilbrink, Creative Director Born05: “We developed a new branding that fits seamlessly with Damen's new brand idea 'Oceans of Possibilities' and that is ready for application to online and offline domains. This new style, recorded in an online style guide, gave OneShoe the tools to get started with digital translation for the entire digital landscape.”
Jitte Milder, Global Brand & Marketing Communications Manager Damen explains: “The renewed digital brand identity has been developed to be applicable within the entire customer journey from inspiration, orientation, consideration to purchase and the service period afterward. A consistent brand visualization and experience of 'one' Damen. As a result, the digital touch-points play a much greater role in conveying the brand, the brand values and brand experience. The launch of the new website is the start, which I am very proud of.”
We have built the entire platform within the Microsoft Azure Cloud environment. This means that Damen's digital platform is also technically ready for the future and we are able to offer new functionalities quickly and regularly.
Ronald Nieuwenhuis
Michel van Velde, CEO of One Shoe: “In addition to the fact that it is important that Damen Shipyards' digital image is consistent and fits seamlessly into that brand idea, it must also optimally match the customer's needs. That is why we started the development of Damen.com and the associated customer portal My Damen from the brand strategy and developed the corresponding digital vision and positioning based on that.” In this way One Shoe lays down a solid foundation on which the user experience design and the technical development of the website are based.
Ronald Nieuwenhuis, team lead at Iquality: “Digital Transformation is a continuous process in which it is important that teams can work efficiently on the development of digital products. For this we have set up development and operations processes and built the entire platform within the Microsoft Azure Cloud environment. This means that Damen's digital platform is also technically ready for the future and we are able to offer new functionalities quickly and regularly. With this, Damen Shipyards maintains its digital lead."
What's next?
Of course, the developments don't stop here! Now that the foundation is in place, we will continue to further develop the platform, in other words: further optimize and above all expand further. Based on thorough UX research, we will continuously monitor whether our assumptions are correct and adjust if not. We are also at the beginning of giving the various business units their own place within the One Damen concept. How do we do that? Our UX designer within our multidisciplinary team will answer this question.
In short, we will continue to innovate together with Damen! Do you want to know what changes will take place in the future? Keep an eye on our social media channels!
