Butlins website platform increases web traffic

Maidenhead, UK, 13th August 2009 – SDL Tridion, leader in Web Content Management (WCM) and part of SDL, leader in Global Information Management (GIM), today announces that Butlins’ new website (www.butlins.com) has resulted in significant net benefits, notably a 21% increase in web traffic.  Working with Building Blocks to implement SDL Tridion’s content management platform, combined with a site re-design, has provided Butlins with a significantly more robust online environment.  Butlins can now take new, competitive offers to market quicker, increase the frequency of such offers, handle the subsequent spike in online traffic, and ultimately convert more sales.

Butlins selected content management platform, SDL Tridion R5, as the foundation to achieve scalable integration with a range of Web 2.0 tools and better utilisation of user generated content to improve customer engagement, encourage repeat visits and ultimately convert more online traffic to sales.

“Since implementation of SDL Tridion R5 in December 2008 it has vastly improved our competitive advantage.  The technology allows us to better handle the display and update of content and a wealth of other options not previously available to us.  Consequently, more people are able to get the information they want and book a holiday with us and in less time,” commented Stephen Belgrave, Senior Projects Manager (E-Commerce) at Butlins.  “The flexibility and ease of use of the SDL Tridion platform with its continued interface and functionality upgrades secures our commitment to the product.”

Tim Norman, sales director of Northern Europe at SDL Tridion, added: “This implementation has enabled Butlins to start fulfilling its aggressive web strategy while also illustrating a complete understanding of its customer base.  By offering content in the appropriate format to visitors and Web 2.0 tools where relevant, it is using the website to deploy its marketing strategy and engage with customers at the right level.”

Four brand sites – Butlins, the Big Weekend, Shoreline and Blue Skies websites – have been migrated onto the single, scalable SDL Tridion WCM platform. The Big Weekend site also incorporates a community section, allowing users to upload photos and comments from their stays at the holiday resorts. In addition, visitors are able to vote for their photo of the week in an online poll.  Technology partner Building Blocks has also delivered integrations with the real-time booking engine and the live entertainments database enabling customers to review the wealth of entertainment available on each Butlins break.

The SDL Tridion platform enables content to be re-used and shared across the four sites, with each one retaining its unique identity. This alleviates time pressures for the marketing team when they have new content to upload. Management of content is now undertaken by the marketing team, allowing new offers and marketing initiatives to be taken from concept to deployment. The website includes a real-time booking engine interface which displays the true level of availability left.