V&A works on online overhaul – “digitally our brand is in its infancy”

The Victoria & Albert Museum has been working with consultancy Made by Many on the first stages of a project to overhaul its online presence.

V&A head of digital media Kati Price says that the ultimate aim of the work is to use digital to “open up” the organisation.

She says: “What Made by Many has been very good at is zooming out of our website design to look at what our online brand could be. The V&A brand is very strong but digitally it’s in its infancy.”

Made by Many was appointed to the two-month first-stage project following a tender which was issued last November.

The aim of this work was to “identify and implement key improvements” in the V&A’s digital presence. This would then lead on to further developments of the V&A’s website.

“There’s a whole strategic backdrop of what you can do with digital”

In its tender, the V&A said that the first phase of work aimed to address two questions: “How can we give our users a better, more seamless online experience, one that is as good as a visit to our buildings?” and “How can we bring our online brand to life and have a more visually consistent and less fragmented online presence?”

Price says: “This project is just a start. What Made by Many is good at is showing a whole strategic backdrop of what you can do with digital. What the consultancy has shown in this project is how digital can add value – both for visitors to the V&A and to the organisation itself.”

Among the “short-term tactical improvements” that Made by Many has developed are an increase in newsletter signups by making the process more prominent, and an increase in homepage engagement using A/B testing.

Price says the aim is now to develop the work through further phases. She says: “We’re currently putting together a business proposal to secure funding for phase two.”