Cabot R&D Showcases Its Innovative Spirit
Cabot’s R&D Team wanted its Web site to communicate its expertise and generate excitement among other researchers and Cabot prospects. The original R&D site was dated and didn’t offer much information about the R&D business and its services.
One of the first things the team discussed was how the site didn’t tell Cabot’s 100+ year story with regard to innovation. The team spent many meetings talking about innovation and how to present it in a non-clichéd way (i.e.: all companies are innovative; how is Cabot different?).
In order to communicate Cabot’s story, the team needed to understand it. DH Communications was charged with reading and communicating Cabot’s history. It was while reading books and other materials that DH realized Cabot’s story wasn’t "linear" and thus shouldn’t be represented on a flat timeline.
After much discussion, an interactive Flash with voice-over presentation was suggested. Due to budget constraints, this Flash piece became an interactive PowerPoint presentation. Corporate Graphics in Westboro, MA did the graphics; DH worked with E-Business and the R&D Team to develop the storyline. The result is "Cabot’s History of Innovation."
DH also worked closely with R&D and E-Business on changing the site’s navigation and developing all new content. What emerged during this nine-month period was R&D’s message – namely, that Cabot is a company specializing in fine particle technology and innovation. Discussion centered around what made Cabot different from nano-tech companies and why this expertise in engineering fine particles was important to the industry.
The end result was a site which told the story of Cabot R&D in an engaging format, gave detailed explanations about Cabot’s fine particle technologies in language that was technical yet reader-friendly, and showed how Cabot R&D helped customers achieve results. Everyone, from the Cabot R&D Council to E-Business, was thrilled with the result of this project. It was truly a team effort.
