Rio is a deliciously tropical soft drink produced by Hall and Woodhouse LTD brewery in Dorset. It has been around since the mid-80s and was due to undergo a complete rebrand to coincide with the launch of two new variants of its product.  

They approached Blue Frontier wanting a brand-new website to coincide with their brand and produce relaunch, which consisted of new flavours. Rio had no online presence before coming to Blue Frontier, so a new website was absolutely essential for a successful relaunch.  

Creating a stylish, functional and fun website that makes everyone want to drink Rio.  

Rio approached us with an enticing project to design and build them a brand-new website that was aligned with their brand and product relaunch. They didn’t have a live website, so we knew that the first thing we needed to do was design and build a holding page attached to their chosen domain (www.drinkrio.com). We knew we they needed to start building some online visibility and be instantly recognisable. This holding page was designed around their existing and still recognised brand. Rio were able to use this page as a sign post for the new website and intended to capture data on any visitors interested in keeping up to date with Rio’s exciting news.

A few months later we were able to start work on their main project, a new website! Blue Frontier came up with an array of exciting ideas for the website’s layout based on an initial website structure and content document provided to us by the client. We then worked closely with Rio’s creative design and branding agency and followed their guidelines to ensure that Rio’s new branding was consistent with the website layout.

Rio’s new look is inspired by the vibrant street art of Brazil – designed to encapsulate the down-to-earth, uplifting vibe of its younger target demographic. It was important that the website complemented this message. To achieve this, our designers used a combination of a (mostly) fullwidth modern looking layout, and eye-catching movement that is paired with the fun animation of the brands key character (Rocco the Monkey). 

The purpose of the website was not intended to sell Rio’s products. Instead, its goal is to provide information about the new products and Rio itself. It was essential that the content-light site was able to remain fresh and current but also simple to manage by their team. The decision was made that along with a Joomla Open Source CMS, Blue Frontier would also build custom components to bring Rio’s buzzing social media presence into the site.