Website redesign garners ‘remarkable’ results

“It’s one core digital social Web team that works on both our internal and external activities,” says James Musick, director of social media and Web communications at Genentech. “The skill overlap is great, and we’re finding, increasingly with the advent of social media, there’s a blurring of the line between internal and external.”

With the launch of the new website in December, the company has discovered that such dovetailing, particularly when it comes to sharing content, means a huge boost in what Musick calls “independent buzz” for videos and news items.

A complete overhaul

Genentech’s digital team began working on the ideas behind its new website about 18 months ago, Musick says.

“Conceptually, we started with wanting to focus on a user-centered website,” he says.

That idea—adding more social media and interactivity to the website—proved to be easier said than done, however. It couldn’t be just a cosmetic change.