A bold new website to match the ambitions of Spirit Energy

Since forming in 2017, Spirit Energy has sought to challenge the established ways of working in the oil and gas industry, positioning itself as an important player in North West Europe. The company differentiates itself through quick-thinking, a desire to do things differently and, most importantly, it’s people – all creating a business built for the future.

Take a look at the new Spirit Energy site here

The challenge

A new business has to work hard to be regarded as a trusted partner, attract the best talent and be considered a good corporate citizen, particularly in an established and challenging sector like oil and gas. While Spirit Energy’s existing website provided a ‘shop window’ for anyone interested in exploring the brand and company, a year-and-a-half after forming - and with greater clarity on its audiences and objectives – the business wanted to create a new website with a much greater depth of content and a design concept that would help it stand out, express its strong values and bold vision, and provide a more engaging user experience. A distinctive tone of voice aligned to the emerging company culture was also required.

Our approach

The only way we could reflect Spirit Energy's warm personality in a digital experience was to immerse ourselves in their world. We embraced their open and collaborative mindset, consistently questioning conventions. This helped us discover what was possible and appropriate for the new website. "People not rigs" became our mantra.

To break new ground we needed an ambitious vision, clear principles and a collaborative approach. Ideas were regularly presented to internal stakeholders and validated against the website objectives. This resulted in stakeholder buy-in throughout the project.

Results

Since launching, the key engagement metrics of the Spirit Energy website have more than doubled, with increased activity and high retention on mobile devices, particularly within the #TeamSpirit section. The website won Gold at the Corporate Content Awards for 'Best Use of Digital' and Silver for 'Best Copy Style/Tone of Voice'. It was also shortlisted at the Umbraco Awards 2020 for 'Best designed site'. However, the reactions from Spirit Energy have been the most rewarding success metric for us.

"Our new website is fantastic – it has a confidence about it and it’s unapologetically different. For me, it sets out everything we want to say about Spirit Energy. Crucially, the team at Comprend understood three things, our business, how to push us outside our comfort zone and if there’s no sugar, is it even a workshop?"

Ross Davidson Head of Communications, Spirit Energy

The design had to be bold and immersive to express the energy, warmth and agility of the people, and showcase a confident business that's not afraid to speak its mind. That builds trust, respect, rapport and naturally encourages audiences to look deeper and engage.

To attract the right talent, the website needed to tell a strong story and demonstrate the company values. A new section “Voice of Spirit” features a series of ‘hero stories’, devised to showcase the company’s skills, expertise and experience.

The leadership team led from the front, crafting profiles that revealed their back-stories and communicated personal passions and deeply held beliefs.