Looking Local Business Case
Introduction
Organisations considering new channels and new investment must look at the business case from all angles; financial, social and strategic. Looking Local's business case covers these areas as well as giving a wider view of the flourishing non-PC digital landscape and the varying needs across the digital demographic; the background on TV viewing and interaction habits, how more people are relying on mobile as a communication channel, what services people are drawn to on TV and how TV and mobile can complete your digital self-service offering.
Looking Local's business case is a significant document which you can request via email here. It details our experience, the technology, puts forward the case from numerous perspectives as well as the reasoning that has encouraged over 120 organisations to date to offer their services on digital interactive TV, mobile phones as well as other channels.
For those with a little less time we have summarised the main points below.
Background
- By 2012, the traditional analogue TV broadcasts will have been completely replaced by digital signals
- The UK is the world leader in terms of access to and take up of digital TV
- Currently over 22 million homes have access to digital TV with approx 13 million homes having access to digital interactive TV
- Current figures show that over 92% of the UK population owns a mobile phone - higher than those homes with a fixed line - and mobile ownership in the 18-24 yr old age group is 95%
- Over 23 million handsets in the UK are able to access the web, making mobile a significant channel for public sector delivery
Financial Benefits
- Low entry and running costs
- Based on national call centre costs/figures, an organisation needs only to convert around 60 call centre calls a week to break even
- Partners can make savings between £18,000-£65,000 by offering their citizens services on Looking Local (based on 2008 usage)
- Ability to have a managed service by Looking Local using best practice
- Looking Local offers both DiTV and mobile technology in one package, specifically designed for public sector service delivery
- No need to buy in technical expertise, hardware or additional training
Access Benefits
- Additional 24/7 channels specifically designed for the various platforms
- Looking Local allows an organisation to offer an audience specific service on multiple platforms in one subscription: DiTV (Sky, Virgin, broadband connected Freeview), mobile phones with Internet capabilities, Wii and kiosks
- Integration between existing/back-end systems and partners using standard XML
Figures Show Out of Hours Contact via Looking Local is Key
Research undertaken on Looking Local in the first quarter of 2010 concentrated on when people were accessing local government services, to see how it was helping our partners in terms of 'out of hours access', aiding self-service at a time that suited the customer.
We found that during January 2010, around 45% of all usage took place outside of traditional business hours (9am-6pm) and approximately 25% of usage took place at the weekend. We feel this proves that Looking Local is an important tool in terms of offering people of all capabilities the choice of when to contact you and widening reach.
Strategic Benefits
- Partnerships with leading UK national e-Government services e.g.: Jobcentre Plus, DirectGov and Transport Direct
- Helps to meet a variety of central and local government policies; digital inclusion, electronic government, information and education, empowerment, employment, economic growth, regeneration as well as helping towards the green agenda
- Helps bridge the digital divide, getting to those people with high usage of government services, who do not have Internet access or PC skills
- Offers a useful starting position in the rapidly growing DiTV landscape; Looking Local is involved with a range of new initiatives from the future of IPTV, linking with broadcast content, telecare/ telehealth, video-on-demand and more
Citizen Benefits
- Additional 24/7 channels, widening choice
- Available for free on DiTV
- 10 million people in the UK do not use the Internet or have access, Looking Local helps provide electronic services to this large swathe of the population - find out more about our audience
- Allows access to government services and information whilst on the go via mobile service
- Uses devices which are known and trusted and need little introduction or education
- Usability and accessibility tested
