Website of the week – Jameson Irish Whiskey
Jameson Irish Whiskey recently launched a brand new website (www.jamesonwhiskey.com) with a contemporary new look and feel. Employing the latest technology, the site encourages user interaction and enables consumers to learn more about the brand.
Style
Jameson’s new website is set against a backdrop in a signature shade of green that is synonymous with the brand, and its Irish heritage.
Impressive from the start, the visitor’s attention is captured upon entering the site by an animated 3D cube – much like the Rubik puzzle cube – with jumbled up faces. The cube then self-arranges its jumbled parts to form coherent pictures on its six sides, before directing the visitor to the homepage.
As reported, the site uses the latest Flash Papervision3D technology which enables users to interact with a 3D cube navigation device in a real-time 3D environment.
Aided by the latest flash and animation technology, the site has a simple and straightforward interface, which is refreshing and lends the site a modern and minimalist feel.
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The site features a 3D navigational cube as its centrepiece and has a straightforward interface and minimalist feel |
The homepage
The homepage features a basic layout of a navigation panel at the top and the 3D navigational cube as the centrepiece.
The navigation panel is made up of eight graphical symbols representing the various sections of the site instead of the usual text, adding a quirky touch to the website. Running the cursor over the graphical symbols will display the names of the sections and a dropdown list of the sub-sections.
The main attraction of the homepage is the 3D navigation cube – floating and twirling in the middle – which visitors can push around from all directions to reveal the six different faces. Each face corresponds to one of the sections on the navigation panel. Clicking on each face will link to that section page.
Visitors can choose to access the different sections via the straightforward method using the navigation panel or by interacting with the animated navigational cube.
The eight sections featured on the navigation panel are Home, Our Whiskeys, Heritage, Drinks, Advertising, Film, Events, Contact Us. Six sections excluding Home and Contact Us are featured on the 3D navigational cube.
Exploring the world of Jameson
“˜Our Whiskeys’ introduces the Jameson product to the consumer. Under the “˜Meet Jameson’ sub-section, visitors can engage with an interactive Jameson bottle.
Scrolling up and down the interactive Jameson bottle, visitors can find out interesting snippets of information about the product, from the Jameson family motto and the Jameson signature to the triple-distilled nature of the product and the country of production.
The “˜Meet the family’ sub-section introduces the consumer to the six types of whiskeys available (Jameson Irish Whiskey, Signature Reserve, 12 Year Old Special Reserve, Gold Reserve, 18 Year Old Limited Reserve and Rarest Vintage Reserve) including description and tasting characteristics.
The “˜Distillery Team’ sub-section introduces the visitor to Jameson’s Master Distiller, Master Blender and Master of Whiskey Science. We like the personal touch provided by this section, which includes a blog contributed by the distillery team and an “˜Ask the Masters’ section where consumers can find out more about the art of whiskey making – directly from the experts.
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A video tour of the distillery provides an interesting and clear way to understand the whiskey making process | |
The “˜Heritage’ section provides an interesting way to explore the history of the brand and the distillery.
The “˜John Jameson Story’ presents the brand history in an interesting story-like format, one section at a time, accompanied by pictures. Rather than presenting the history in one whole block of text, this helps to keep the reader interested and engaged.
The “˜Virtual distillery tour’ sub-section had us impressed with the effective usage of videos accompanied by text and description. The detailed processes of whiskey making, from the ingredients to malting, mashing, milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation and maturation, are covered in concise text and animated images. Visitors get a clear picture and better understanding of the process. Much like the Old Jameson Distillery tour in Dublin itself, it’s made fun and easy to understand for the casual visitor.
“˜Visitor centres’ provides comprehensive information on The Old Jameson Distillery and The Jameson Experience Midleton. Both locations offer visitor tours, dining facilities and are venues for corporate events. Visitors can use this section to find out more about the hospitality services as well as book tours online.
The “˜Drinks’ section features the different options for drinking Jameson Whiskey and provides the recipes online as well as the option to download and print them.
“˜Ask the expert’ introduces consumers to the Jameson Mixologist, Nick Strangeway, and allows them to ask him questions directly via an online form. The page also displays recent questions and answers as well as a question archive – extremely comprehensive and useful.
The “˜Perfectly balanced game’ is a Shockwave 3D stacking game which offers visitors some entertainment.
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Clicking on the drinks displays the recipe for the concoction |
Much effort is spent by Jameson on advertising and creating brand awareness and this is reflected in the “˜Advertising’ and “˜Film’ sections of the website.
The “˜Advertising’ section features a collection of the brand’s print and online advertisements for viewing.
The “˜Film’ section showcases Jameson’s connection and sponsorship of major film festivals and events worldwide. The page features a picture gallery and information on the various film events and festivals.
“˜View the ads’ displays a collection of film-related advertisements by the brand. These advertisements are noteworthy for their witty taglines and eye-catching presentations which are effectively executed to draw references to the Jameson brand and heritage, creating consumer interest and awareness.
The “˜Events’ section links the consumer to the lifestyle aspect of whiskey drinking, featuring the “˜world’s best bars’ website (www.WorldsBestBars.com), which is sponsored by Jameson. The site works like a global bar directory with recommendations and interactive feedback from visitors.
The “˜Jameson events’ sub-section provides information about Jameson parties and events worldwide. We like the nifty function at the bottom of the page which allows visitors to bookmark and share information about the event on other networking websites such as Facebook.
The “˜Contact Us’ section on the navigation panel provides an online form for visitors to send messages or ask questions.
Visitors can return to the homepage and 3D navigational cube at any time by clicking on the “˜Home’ section on the navigation panel.
General Overview
Jameson’s new website is a prime example of harnessing the latest technologies to enhance and bring out the best side of the brand. The website is well-designed and efficiently executed to reach out to its global consumers and generate brand interest and awareness. The interactive and contemporary interface is impressive and engaging. Content is smartly presented to sustain visitors’ attention and interest. Personal and interactive touches such as blog entries, games and Q&A sections should help to generate consumer participation and repeat visits. We enjoyed our visit to the website and are sure many consumers will enjoy the experience as well.
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