Why the Royal Navy chose Great State to deliver for the next generation

We’re thrilled to announce, after a competitive tender process, Great State has been selected as a Royal Navy digital agency for the next two years.

Our response was more than a pitch, it was our chance to lay out a bold vision for the future, evolving the Royal Navy’s digital customer experience for the next generation. This allowed us to tap into twelve years of collaboration with the defence sector, giving us deep knowledge and unique insights to lean into. With evolving user needs and diverse considerations for Corporate Comms and Recruitment, the Royal Navy saw how our proposal strived to close the ‘digital expectation gap’ between audience and organisation.

More than any time in recent memory, our nation’s defence is front of mind with the public. This meant that our approach could never be ‘business as usual’. Thankfully, it didn’t have to be – we’d spent months laying critical foundations for change, including going live with the first phase of the new Royal Navy website with a new content strategy, refined recruitment process and design system, forward looking technical architecture and moving Microsoft Dynamics to the cloud.

Our proposal allowed us to showcase a truly user-centred strategy spanning the next two years, targeting a fragmented and tribal Generation Z with highly relevant experiences and more agile social content. Converting this initial interest into hyper-personalised journey’s on the site was another pillar of the presentation, as was demonstrating how creative technology can be harnessed to immerse the public into the often unseen global work of the Royal Navy.

The last two years also set new standards for quality in social media content and digital innovation, winning awards ranging from the Grand Prix at the Digital Impact Awards and BIMA Gold for Digital Transformation through to The Drum Roses Award for social creativity.

Now, we’re looking forward to what’s ahead. As a digital agency, we’re putting plans into action: continuing to work closely with the Royal Navy’s team of experts and collaborating with the organisation’s wide roster of agencies. Today, as it was yesterday, we are dedicated to supporting the British Armed Forces.

David Chandler, Joint Managing Director, Great State

"When I stood up at the end of our pitch and said 'the best is yet to come' I meant it. We’re incredibly proud to extend our relationship with the Royal Navy and intend to deliver on our promise to shape their future digital experience through our unique blend of strategic, technical, UX and creative talent and our track record of collaborating with the Navy’s experts."

Stewart Robinson, Navy Digital, Royal Navy

“The Great State team impressed us with their energy and the depth of their thinking with new ideas and ways of approaching our challenges. I'm looking forward to collaborating with them through the duration of the new contract.”