Behind Ryze Agency UK’s Webby Winning Work

Two years into its founding, Ryze Agency UK received its first Webby recognition in 2020 as an Honoree in the Websites, Corporate Communications category. Six years later, the agency continues to create exceptional work across Websites and Mobile Sites, helping countless brands make the right impression with valuable audiences.

We spoke with Founder and CEO Dave Smith about the work behind their latest Webby-winning projects, AI’s standard-setting for site-building, and how Webby recognitions have supported their mission of authentically creative brand storytelling.

Focusing first on Dunes & Stars, every great idea starts somewhere, so what sparked this one?

It’s a really unique experience in general, literally it’s a niche tour guide that takes people out into the middle of the desert, out into what they call the Empty Quarter. And essentially there’s no other experience really like that in the world.

We assisted in evolving the brand to a degree but also it was mainly that web experience that we put together, that we wanted to tell a story and try and bring some of what that experience is essentially going to be so people can get a real feel for it, I suppose, and that emotive side of things to incentivize them to obviously get in touch.

Looking at the project, I think you guys absolutely hit the nail on the head. With that project in particular, was there a breakthrough or risk that shaped its success?

They had some initial pre-shoots done by photographers that were taken on the tours, so we got a feel for the kind of thing it was. But then we art directed some of how that photography style should be going forward— like how the food should look, it needs to look like it’s the service levels it’s actually providing. Because we’d seen some of the stuff before and even though it’s like a really high class of service, there were photos where you didn’t quite get the feel of what you’d want it to be.

I think the difference with Dunes & Stars was just not kind of being on set and on hand. So it was using all the kind of visual UI design, also transitions, animations, the kind of the subtle stuff that brings a site together, which gives you a feel for the brand kind of beyond what a static site is going to give you.

 

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Let’s talk a little bit about Pixis. What sparked that project?

We got involved with a new CMO that they brought on board, Jason Widup, who was really close to the project and he was really aligned to what we were. And I think that was the key thing is that he understood that people were gonna be the thing that moved Pixis forward because essentially it was a platform targeting digital marketers, PPC performance specialists, digital content creators, all these different guys. And when it was a faceless tech-based site and brand, people really didn’t get what it was offering them.

So we kind of pivoted that entirely. We did a complete brand refresh, brand strategy, messaging. It was around giving people that kind of convenience to create better content, but not take away this human element, which AI was, at the time, becoming kind of renowned for doing. We brought in things like retail and consumer-based graphics and visuals that kind of, again, helped just align to the audience that we were targeting.

Would you say that the risk here was AI, or was there a different risk that shaped the project success when it comes to Pixis?

There were all kinds, all kinds of risks. It was because the business is so dependent on the success of the website in terms of the leads, whether it’s getting the message across. They were coming through at a time when AI was literally, like, just everywhere.

But when Pixis came out, it was when every single software company you can think of was either saying, “We now have an AI function,” or, “We have a product that is fully AI-based.” So we had to look at what the competitors were doing and think, you know, what’s Pixis doing that’s different?

So the core messages of the site, effectively, had to win them leads, win them business, and fast. So a lot of pressure to make sure that that worked essentially.

Let’s talk more about Ryze generally and the Webbys. We’re always big on what’s next here— what can we expect to see from you following these wins?

I think it’s just what we’ve always done. We’re always trying to find a different angle to the expected. There’s nothing worse than producing something and feeling like it’s predictable, and we don’t look to do something just for the sake of it.

I think when you start to see more [AI sites] out there in the world, you’ll start to tell— I mean, you can already kinda tell the difference. And I think the more people that become savvy to that, hopefully, and you know, this is the direction that we like to think would happen, is that sites that are built and have got that strategic element behind them start to stand out more from that AI kind of standard, and we’re excited to see how our work aligns to that and how it differentiates.

The Webbys is a great place to see what’s out there because you obviously get some great agencies that we compete against, and that’s why we love entering into it just because of the level of competition.

That’s a great segue into my next question. Two Webby wins later, and I know you’re up to four now, and numerous honorees and nominee recognitions. Has anything changed for you creatively or professionally after winning these Webbys?

One of the first honorees we had, going back eight years almost when we started the agency, we won clients off the back of. It was just being able to put our work out there and get that kind of awareness.

I think the key reason that we do it is because we kind of let our work do the talking from a sales and marketing perspective. We don’t have a traditional sales team that kind of does a lot of cold outreach or anything like that; we’d rather people came to us because they had a need and, and a desire to work with us than us having to convince people to work with us. I think when you have to convince somebody, they’re already potentially not necessarily the right client.

So the Webbys have given us a great platform for our work out there. Winning the Webbys is a really fantastic and rewarding experience for the team as well. But we also share those rewards with our clients because they love to feel like it’s that acknowledgment that “you guys said you were gonna do us a good job.” Well, we’ve got jury members that also say this was a site done well, so there’s a little bit more evidence and proof that that’s definitely the case. So yeah, there’s a number of reasons why it’s a great platform.

The interview has been edited for clarity.

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Early Entry Deadline is October 30

Submit your projects by the Early Entry Deadline on Friday, October 30 to secure the best pricing of the season. Explore our categories across Websites & Mobile Sites, including honors for General Desktop & Mobile Sites, Features & Design, Email Newsletters and more.