Posted by: sholto
on Aug 22, 2011
We woke up with a bee in our bonnet about the design of our UK party site - GoBananas - on Friday morning. So, in the spirit of getting things done, we knocked up a redesign, coded it, checked it and put it live; all within about eight hours. Since most designs take months of arguing and tweaking,it felt good to just get on with something and see it through.
It proves that having a great team in house that know the technology, work fast and make decisions quickly is a real benefit. Likewise, having a solid platform that is not too complicated, where all the elements are nicely separated and the overall design template is quite separate from underlying code means you can devise a new look and get it done pronto.
The urge to design arose from a sense that the 2011 design was too dark and somber and did not stand out at all from competition. In the past, yellow was our keynote colour so a new design that returned us to our roots just seemed a no-brainer. Anyway the job is done: there is lots of little tweaks required which we will complete this week. Some of those tweeks are not related to design at all but from a decisions to move from our cloud infrastructure at UK2 to a new supplier: Amazon Web Services who we hope will be more reliable.
Take a look at www.gobananas.co.uk to see where we are.
Posted by: ken
on May 19, 2011
Elaborate Stag and Hen parties have become a very British institution over the last decade and we're proud to be serving at the very forefront of this industry with our GoBananas division. Since we first launched the party planning company about 4 years ago, we've gone from strength and spread out over the UK, over our borders and under our waters! And with our new and improved website, booking a stag or hen weekend has never been easier!
The job of the GoBananas team, beyond just taking the responsibility of arranging the whole stag or hen event (or 'bachelor' and 'bachelorette' to some parts of the world), is to make sure that they know all the top bars, clubs, outdoor and indoor activity suppliers up and down the UK. Naturally it's busier in some cities than others, but they've been working for years on building up a complete database of suppliers and are confident that we've left few stones unturned.
The new website makes it even easier to browse the many options available to you, with greater navigation and some fantastic new features. Top of the list though has to be the new Party Builder feature - mixing party planning with online shopping. The feature has been designed to allow the user to have greater control over what they're viewing, and be able to keep all their favourite/preferred activities together.
Also new to the site is the ability to browse activities via their locations on a map; powered by Google, this instant go-to-guide will show you where everything is with handy blue pointers! No compass required! Unless of course you're going orienteering or something. Making a return as well is the Live Chat system, where you can log on and exchange instant messages with one of the sales team who'll be more than happy to chat.
As far as Stag and Hen party planning goes, this is as good as it gets. The new system makes it easier for you, easier for us, and this means there's less stress all round and more time to focus on customer care! Plus, you know, now it looks really cool.
Posted by: sholto
on Mar 25, 2011
The GoBananas took a day out to visit the Lake District and see what the crack is with our partners there. Since we live the brand, we dressed in our customary bananas suits which are warm, comfortable and ever so practical.
You can follow the teams adventures on YouTube
Posted by: mark
on Mar 21, 2011
Tagged in: Untagged
GDS International started out in 1993 as GDS Publications to specialise in industrial, government-led publications for the prospering Chinese market. The company has gone on to launch GDS Events and GDS Online, and has continued to maintain an impalpable sense of business awareness across a variety of platforms.
One of the most frequent forms of articles to appear from GDS International is a series of scam-warnings, designed to help improve the awareness of businesses worldwide to the pitfalls of a modern e-society. Whether it be showing how to avoid simple job scams, alerting to Nigerian Banker Scams (also known as a 'Nigerian 419') or taking a look at how people are using the recession as an excuse to capitalize on the insecure, GDS International has been alerting the world to new scams as they arise.
Despite Google seeming intent on suggesting the word 'scam' next to searches for "GDS International" - problem that is becoming more pandemic than anyone had anticipated for companies everywhere - GDS International shall continue to bring the most pressing business issues to the fore. This site shall be dedicated to championing the biggest and best articles that the Scam Buster team produce, for the continued safety in surfing for companies worldwide.
Posted by: mark
on Feb 15, 2011
Spencer Green GDS International - Spencer is the founder chairman of GDS International, a privately owned events and media company focused on business to business.
Spencer Green, former Junior Wimbledon player, Wales rugby fan, practicing marathon runner and competitive cyclist, started GDS as a publishing house targeted at the markets of China, India and South America. That was way back in 1993. Before this he had worked as a member of The Rolling Stones’ road crew and also as Sales Manager at Sterling Publications, post his education at Clevedon and Millfield schools and law study at Kings College, London.
Posted by: mark
on Feb 14, 2011
Easter approaching and the waist is expanding the question is what will you do for Easter this year?
If you are looking for a new Easter gift idea then check out our new Gobananas Gift Voucher. We have got 100's of activity providers up and down the UK.
3 Simple Steps To Buying A Gift Voucher
- Step 1 Choose Voucher
- Step 2 Write message and pay
- Step 3 Voucher emailed immediately, so you can print it or have emailed directly to lucky recipient
Most Popular Gift Voucher
Posted by: sholto
on Oct 27, 2009
Helpmego.to has launched a new reputation management division on behalf of our corporate and recruitment clients who need to manage their brands online. Reputation Management 4
It is ten years since Alan Greenspan declared that in future a company's most important asset would be its reputation. Brand management continues to live a strange half-life in executive marketing departments, but the real life and death struggle for most brands is now taking place online where the chatter of customers, employees and reviewers can make or break a company or product reputation.
The old brand premise was that corporations could pro-actively put together a plan to win awards as excellent places to work, secure mentions in news pieces and editorials, participate in case studies and white papers, and be talked about at industry events. Because corporations were coordinating nearly all of the information that made them visible, it was possible to heavily influence how they were perceived. Companies were brand owners.
The new owners are a complicated regiment of individuals who use a variety of communication channels to influence your brand without the company's knowledge, permission, or guidance. This array of contributors grows more complex daily, and the most prominent groups of brand influencers include: bloggers, social networkers, twitterers, reviewers, customers, ex employers and aggrieved employees.
Reputation management is about tracking and being strategic about these owners and both cohabiting with them as well as seeking to influence and understand them.
Helpmego.to's reputation management division provides corporations and individuals with tools and support to manage and own their brands online.
