Pod1 Launches New Website for Global Mechanism, a Specialized United Nations Entity

Pod1 web design London (www.pod1.com) has built and launched a new website for a specialised entity of the United Nations known as the Global Mechanism (GM).

(PRWEB) November 8, 2006 -- Pod1 web design London (www.pod1.com) has built and launched a new website for a specialised entity of the United Nations known as the Global Mechanism (GM).

The Global Mechanism, based in Rome, is a subsidiary body of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the first international treaty to recognize the linkages between poverty and environmental degradation and to emphasize the need for an integrated approach to natural resource management and rural development. The GM provides specialized financial advisory services, upscaling finance for Sustainable Land Management (SLM)

Pod1 (www.pod1.com) was contracted by the GM following a competitive international pitch. Pod1 was briefed to build a site mainly aimed at the donor community (made up of multilateral and bilateral donor agencies, private sector companies, NGO bodies, research institutions etc.).

Specifically, the brief outlined the requirement for a revamped look and feel for the division, less typical than the traditional UN brand (www.un.org) and closer to the world of merchant banking. (The fund-management sector actually represents a direct fit with GM's role as a financial service provider, mobilizing resources worldwide to help countries achieve sustainable land management.)

The new GM website (www.global-mechanism.org) was an untried concept because the GM had developed a new brand, quite unlike the rest of the UN. An Italian agency, La Boîte, designed the new GM brand. A German agency, Publicare, was responsible for email marketing, while Pod1, based in London, looked after the website design and build. It was a truly multinational effort… Even while waiting for the new brand to be created and agreed in Italy, Pod1 was able to begin work on the back-end and so keep the project on-time.

Pod1 came up with a simple construct for a very wide user base, one that would 'allow users to complete other tasks when browsing the website', one of the brief's stipulations. Its focus was on usability in a content rich site. In addition, the highest possible coding standards mean the site's accessibility standards are second-to-none.

Marc Caudron, Pod1 director, said:

"It's been rewarding to work with an international consortium of agencies on such an important cause. And we look forward to our ongoing relationship with Global Mechanism."

Maurizio Navarra, GM's Communications and Web Coordinator, said:

"The selection of a dynamic web company was at the core of our website creation process. Pod1's commitment and their professionalism was key to the deployment of a successful website"

Sarah Marchant, GM's Communications and Web Editor, said:

"Pod1 are passionate about their business. The essential, clear-cut, website and tailor-made CMS matched all our specifications. Their team spirit and customer care exceeded our expectations."

The site was launched on Thursday 12 October 2006 on-budget and on-time. In an ongoing relationship between GM and Pod1 increasing functionality will be added to the site over the next 12 months.

The Global Mechanism website and its ongoing additions represents Pod1's first learning experience from The United Nations World.

For further information or images, please contact:

Craig Morrison

0870 246 2002

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