mygaelic.com – Website
Brief:
Following a tender process undertaken by Bòrd na Gàidhlig in 2007 to create awareness to the Gaelic language, the contract was awarded to the Glasgow-based agency, Red Cell Scotland. Simon MacQuarrie and Gillian Thomson were the lead agency personnel and following the closure of Red Cell Scotland in December 2007 and the subsequent launch of The Creative Cell l An Còmhlan Cruthachail in 2008, Bòrd na Gàidhlig transferred the creative and project management to the new agency. The proposal presented in 2007 focused on the design and development of a consumer website containing information on all areas of Gaelic development including learning, careers and events. A social networking element was also incorporated in the build of the site. The brand name for the website was mygaelic.com
Creative: mygaelic.com was launched in February 2009 and was supported with a marketing plan consisting of press advertising within The Scottish Sun and other publications that supported the learning of Gaelic. A Guess the Gaelic competition featured on Real Radio and CalMac ferries and port offices and Highlands & Islands airports showcased the mygaelic.com advertising campaign. A distinctive typeface was selected for the mygaelic.com brand name and the website was structured to incorporate the three language levels of English, simple Gaelic and Gaelic. Day-to-day management of the website was provided by The Creative Cell l An Còmhlan Cruthachail and this related to updating the news and event calendar pages, researching and writing feature articles and updating the Facebook and Twitter elements.
Result: mygaelic.com has achieved visitors from 109 countries and the Learn Gaelic section of the site was the highest ranking section in terms of traffic. Approximately 50% of all visits to the site were from people who had visited previously, which indicated a high degree of loyalty. Real Radio’s Guess the Gaelic competition drove significant numbers to the site and coupled with the awareness activity, mygaelic.com has been appreciated by learners of Gaelic and other users. Another development to the site was the creation of a monthly HTML email based newsletter. This communication piece featured articles on topical activity relevant to the Gaelic world and the content was translated, uploaded to the site and distributed to an extensive audience base.