BISSELL

From click to clean: Building a digital flagship experience

Transcript

In a well loved home. Messes aren’t just messes. They’re the remnants of a pillow castle or the muddy leftovers of a rainy dog walk. To resonate with audiences more effectively, Bissell needed to redefine every aspect of their digital ecosystem. Through our partnership, we elevated Bissell’s customer experience by placing their customers at the forefront of everything from creative to content and commerce. To create an intuitive guided shopping experience. We improved navigation, reworked the information hierarchy, and added interactive 3D models to bring the products to life. We also gave special attention to Bissell storytelling capabilities by creating dynamic content for use across the entire digital ecosystem. With a 10 day, five location photo and video shoot, the guided shopping experience and improved content made the customer journey more intuitive and engaging. From first click to checkout, we focused on building a new and improved commerce platform. Working in collaboration with advertising agency Godfrey Dadig. Our team translated Bissell’s updated brand identity into a digital flagship store. Working together, we integrated Bissell’s commitment to pet parents and their furry friends throughout the entire digital journey. The best part, their promise. Every purchase saves pets. Finally, with a series of smart social campaigns, new email flows, and a comprehensive Amazon strategy, we drove renewed website traffic and brand awareness. Our work took the Bissell brand and delivered a digital flagship store that captures the essence of their products. Scientifically engineered pet, parent approved.

When BISSELL, a household name in floor care, set out to revolutionize its digital presence, it needed a partner who could bring bold ideas and flawless execution to the table.

To future-proof the brand’s position as a leader in the increasingly competitive home care and cleaning products space, we knew BISSELL’s digital store and direct-to-consumer offerings had to be as advanced and sleek as the products it sells. 

Through a multipronged partnership spanning creative, content, and commerce, we created a best-in-class digital ecosystem that not only streamlined the path to purchase but also redefined how BISSELL connects with its customers. The result is a multichannel flagship experience that elevates the BISSELL brand and provides customers more value across every touchpoint.

Bissell Billboard

The strategy for transformation

Grounded in data and designed for impact, our and BISSELL’s strategy put customer experience and brand identity at the forefront. Our approach focused on three key pillars: enhancing the user experience, driving growth through digital excellence, and building a scalable, future-ready foundation.

Putting the customer first

The cornerstone of the strategy was to create an intuitive, engaging online platform tailored to customer needs. By mapping the user journey, we identified pain points and opportunities to inform what a seamless shopping experience would look like across off- and online channels. 

Driving growth through data and design

With a focus on aligning design with data insights, we needed to build a platform that reflected BISSELL’s updated brand identity and resonated with its target audience. From high-quality photography and 3D animations to SEO-optimized copy, every element would be crafted to engage users and drive conversions. 

Building for the future

Recognizing the importance of flexibility and scalability, we sought to modernize BISSELL’s tech stack with a headless commerce architecture powered by Salesforce. 

A digital flagship, redefined

We collaborated with Godfrey Dadich to translate BISSELL’s updated brand identity into a sleek and modern digital design. By enhancing navigation and reworking the information hierarchy, the team made the customer journey intuitive and engaging from the first click to checkout. The new platform includes features like a product finder tool to simplify the decision-making process and interactive content to bring BISSELL’s products—and their value—to life.

To ensure a cohesive omnichannel experience for customers, we also revamped BISSELL’s approach to email with redesigned email templates that align with the new BISSELL.com. By integrating them with the updated website and broader digital ecosystem, BISSELL’s enhanced brand identity remained consistent across its owned channels. 

Storytelling that sells

We took a strategic approach to BISSELL’s content to ensure all of the visuals and copy across the site were consistent with the brand, showcased its values, and resonated with its audience. This included both a tactical component—migrating hundreds of pages of content into BISSELL’s new CMS, Contentstack—and creative services.  

By establishing a consistent tone of voice and defining clear content pillars, we helped BISSELL create a framework for making sure all written content meets brand standards and identity. We also bolstered BISSELL’s storytelling capabilities by providing them with visuals to use across the digital ecosystem. In addition to orchestrating a 10-day, five-location photo and video shoot, we developed interactive 3D models to spotlight hero products, highlighting their standout features in an engaging and informative format.

Scaling copywriting with AI

We combined AI technology with human expertise to optimize over 560 pages of BISSELL’s digital content. This hybrid approach resulted in engaging, user-centric copy for 24 category landing pages (CLPs), 59 product listing pages (PLPs), and 373 product pages. By blending AI efficiency with human creativity we ensured all content was SEO-optimized and true to BISSELL’s brand voice. This scalable process allowed for rapid delivery of high-quality, conversion-focused copy, refined by human editors to ensure clarity, tone, and consistency.

Proving prowess with pets

BISSELL’s dedication to effective pet-specific cleaning solutions has made it a favorite among pet owners. We worked to integrate BISSELL’s animal love and expertise across the digital journey.

Our “Spick and Span” influencer campaign connected with pet parents through creators aligned with BISSELL’s values, driving 15.5M+ organic impressions. Influencer content amplified BISSELL’s “Pet Proven™” messaging, boosting awareness, traffic, and trust, achieving an impressive 7.09% ROI in its pilot rollout.

We also supported the launch of BISSELL’s industry-first Pet Proven™ certification program, simplifying shopping for pet owners. We ensured Pet Proven™ badges are prominently featured on BISSELL’s updated website, helping customers find high-performing, pet-friendly products with ease.

Results that shine

The success of BISSELL’s digital transformation is rooted in a truly collaborative process. From day one, we worked hand-in-hand, holding regular workshops, stakeholder interviews, and feedback sessions to ensure every decision aligned with BISSELL’s vision and goals. This close partnership allowed for seamless integration of strategy, design, and execution, ensuring no detail was overlooked.

Together, we redefined BISSELL’s e-commerce experience, creating a platform that is both intuitive and visually stunning. The revamped site now offers a streamlined customer journey, engaging content, and interactive product features that showcase BISSELL’s innovative solutions. 

FREITAG F-Cut

The sustainable Swiss brand FREITAG, known for their bags and accessories made from used truck tarpaulins, has always stood for individualism. With the new digital tool F-Cut, FREITAG now offers its customers the opportunity to design their very own super unique items. The idea behind it was born 20 years ago – and comes from a DEPT® employee.

Desire for more uniqueness

Each of the approximately 300,000 FREITAG bags and accessories produced each year is unique. A large proportion is manufactured in Zurich, where the truck tarpaulins are dismantled and washed by FREITAG employees before the bag designers cut out the best motifs with their cutter knives and templates and these are then processed into bags.

So far, so good. But more and more often, customers inquire in the FREITAG stores whether a specific bag is also available in another color, with this or that motif. The bag makers have taken these requests for (even) more uniqueness to heart – and fell back on the diploma thesis in which DEPT® employee Severin Klaus invented, designed and programmed the first F-Cut for FREITAG 20 years ago.

Democratisation of bag design

The DEPT® team in Switzerland has been working with FREITAG since 2020 and has, among other things, implemented a bag swapping campaign on Tinder for the brand. Now FREITAG approached us to awaken the online cutting table F-Cut from its slumber together with bag and UX designers, logisticians and many other experts.

The following positioning and visions were defined in a preliminary project:

Democratisation of bag design

Every interested customer should have the opportunity to design their own unique bag according to their own taste, beyond all design guidelines.

Bringing FREITAG’s values to life

Sustainability and individualism come first. The FREITAG Sweat-Yourself-Shops are to be transported from the physical to the digital world by means of F-Cut.

Revival of a classic

The new F-Cut is to be as good as the multiple award-winning 20-year-old original, but even more user-friendly and contemporary.

Linking the offline world with the online world

F-Cut offers a unique combination of rough & real materials with digital perfection and a smooth product configuration – no matter on which device, including 3D preview in real time. In this way, the offline world of FREITAG is linked to the online world thanks to a unique experience. 
 
For F-Cut, DEPT® not only implemented the UX, UI and the 3D preview, but also the back- and frontend. The visual identity, creative direction and copy were done by FREITAG.

From a technical perspective, F-Cut is a web application that combines various systems. On the one hand, there is of course the F-Cut app – the GUI – in which FREITAG customers configure their bags. Then there is the F-Cut backend with a headless CMS, which primarily provides a database and communicates via API with the checkout (FREITAG online store) and of course the F-Cut app. In addition, there are further admin interfaces with everyday tarpaulin management functions (configuration, orders, etc.) and tarpaulin upload, editor and export (DXF) for production.

Bag dreams come true

For the first release, the focus was on the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid): we limited ourselves to one bag type, the Messenger Bag F712 DRAGNET, which can be designed using four virtual templates from a selection of 20-50 different truck tarps. The designable bag types could be expanded in the future or the bag type could change at fixed intervals.

In order to ensure fairness and equality, new tarpaulins are silently added to the system to exclude disputes about the “good” tarpaulin pieces. Another important aspect for FREITAG was the balance between maximum design freedom and sustainability: leftover tarpaulins are used for accessory products.

A few numbers

The response to the F-Cut has been overwhelming, especially from Japan, Germany and FREITAG’s home market Switzerland.

  • The virtual cutting table is very busy – between 40-60 users at a time are designing their own F712 DRAGNET Messenger Bag online every day.
  • Since the launch in May 2022, more than 300 digitised truck tarpaulins have been used.
  • In addition, FREITAG also received many requests from their fans to introduce F-Cut for other bag models as well.

What’s next?

Already before the go-live, F-Cut triggered enthusiasm both among the DEPT® and FREITAG teams. Several further development projects are already planned: more products and features are to follow. 20 years after the birth of the idea, F-Cut has finally awoken from its slumber and will continue to grow steadily.

Over 20 years ago, I got to implement F-Cut as a student one-man show – to rethink this project now, with the support of a fantastic team, both on the DEPT® side and on the customer side, while exploiting the possibilities of today’s technology, is a great privilege.

Severin Klaus, Tech Director, DEPT®

DESIGN YOUR VERY OWN
FREITAG BAG