World's highest Bungy (233m) in Macau, China
Media release from Swordfox
May 22 2013
Queenstown’s Swordfox takes AJ Hackett International to the world
Queenstown-based design, branding and web agency Swordfox has launched itself into the international spotlight with its
redesign of the global web and social media presence for AJ Hackett International.
The adventure company was founded by AJ Hackett, renowned the world over as the bungy jump entrepreneur.
The team at Swordfox was tasked with creating a visually impactful and engaging website, incorporating six sites from
France to Australia, covering the locations where AJ Hackett International has bungy, swing bridge, flying fox, luge and
sky bridge attractions.
Swordfox Director Graham McLellan said the company was “delighted” to showcase its work on the world stage.
"It's a big responsibility when you're asked to work on such a large scale, international project,” he said.
“We were privileged to take on the challenge and we’re very proud of the outcome.
“The site reflects the energy and culture of the brand, as well as its international reach.”
Australia-based AJ Hackett International Group Marketing Director Nigel Hobbs said that with AJ Hackett International
located in six countries, the company had reviewed web developers from around the world.
"Many of these businesses had impressive portfolio and industry recommendations, but in the end it was Swordfox from
Queenstown that was able to rise to the challenge of providing an impressive result for our international operation."
The new Swordfox-designed home page www.ajhackett.com is a global portal incorporating six international sites that were previously separately managed. Users can visit
France, Germany, Russia, China, Singapore and Australia sites within one click, accessing information specific to each
area.
Mr McLellan said the single domain had numerous benefits for the company such as improved search engine marketing and
integrated merchandise sales, but at the same time it threw up some challenges.
“We had to custom-build a content management system with multilingual support for some of the locations, for example
combined French/English under the French section,” he said.
“All the while the day-to-day admin usage of the site was not to be compromised.
“It’s now set up so that as AJ Hackett International grows, we will grow the web’s capability with their business.”
Features of the website include image-driven and engaging navigation that advances the usual drop-down menus, a new AJ
Hackett timeline (from 1986 to present), and YouTube integration. Geolocation detection redirects visitors to their
nearest bungy location (depending on proximity) and an integrated secure booking and gift voucher system is available
for locations that don't have an existing provider, such as China.
The jQuery library for animation and effects not only alleviates the need for Adobe Flash but is also compatible with
all mobile and web devices.
There is a trimmed-down mobile version of the entire site which features the most important aspects of the site needed
when users are out and about, such as activity information, video, images, booking, how to find the nearest activity and
contact details.
Swordfox also designed all AJ Hackett International’s digital presence including Facebook cover photos and avatar,
Twitter backgrounds, YouTube background and email signatures.
To visit the new AJ Hackett International website go to www.ajhackett.com
For more information about Swordfox go to www.swordfoxdesign.co.nz
ENDS