E3 Media in frame for Halfords site revamp

Halfords has appointed E3 Media to redesign its website and launch spin-off URLs as part of a £400 000 drive to refocus its on-line offering on mainstream motoring and cycling enthusiasts.

The brief calls for www.halfords. com to be brought into line with the retailer’s new orange-andblack corporate identity unveiled in June 2001 and designed by Lippa Pearce.

Halfords also requires two standalone sites, www.bikehut. com and www.ripspeed.com, specifically targeting cyclists and so-called ‘max-power’ motorists.

All three sites will include product information and reviews, community-focused chatrooms, noticeboards, events diary and video links featuring footage of related rallies and events.

Bristol-based E3 Media was awarded the account last week following an eight-way pitch spanning three months. The project will take around five months to develop, says E3 Media joint managing director Mike Bennett.

‘Halfords is trying to build a stronger relationship with specific motoring and cycling fans, rather than mechanical enthusiasts, which is the problem with the current look and feel of www.halfords.com,’ adds Bennett. ‘The existing site, launched many years ago, now looks outdated.’

The revamp of www.halfords. com is the first step towards launching an e-commerce site within the next two years.

‘This project will lay the foundation on which to build a multi-channel retail future,’ says Halfords e-business manager Peter Loftus.