Fuerte – the name is Spanish for “strong” – started out three years ago in London with a focus purely on app development. Since then, off the back of great work for the likes of Audi, Unilever and Visa, it has grown steadily, and opened a second office in Prague, with a US office opening up in New York in the summer.

Over those three years, however, the company’s approach and philosophy has matured, as client operations director Sharon Hartigan explains. “I think three years ago there was a feeling that mobile meant apps, and for many brands, that was their first experience of mobile marketing,” she says. “But things have moved on. Mobile should now be part of a connected digital strategy, central to every brand’s vision, and our approach supports that.”

It’s reflected in the way the company now works with clients. It has moved from a brief- or project-led approach to more of a strategic partnership. “Most of our past work has come in response to working with clients and agencies to create standalone apps”, says Hartigan, “but in the long term, I believe it benefits clients if there is a stronger relationship underpinning the work you do for them. It allows you to get under the skin, to understand what makes the company, and more importantly, their customers, tick.”

Collaborative approach
This stronger relationship makes for a much more collaborative approach. Fuerte works with its clients on ideation, “developing concepts to create things they maybe didn’t realise they needed until we created them,” as Hartigan describes it.
Digital disruption is another specialism. “This is where we look at what a client has already done and already got and think about how we can make it work harder for them,” says Hartigan. “What can we do to take something that’s already good, and make it amazing?”

For Carphone Warehouse, Fuerte has enhanced the user experience and user interface design across its omni-channel retailing platform. Working on multiple products such as honeyBee Activate and PinPoint, the goal was to build customer and staff engagement by enabling authoritative and collaborative assisted sales conversations. Getting the right behaviour during customer interactions is critically important and the teams UI work has helped make a positive difference for multiple clients.

“Fuerte have been thoughtful, creative and flexible, working cheerfully and professionally as part of an integrated team under enormous pressure,” says Steve Moore of Carphone Warehouse. “Id highly recommend them.”

Key tenets
The Fuerte approach is formalised into three key tenets. The first is Connected Journeys. This is the idea that a brand’s customer should enjoy a seamless relationship with the brand across all touchpoints, both physical and digital.

The second is Enhancing Experiences. This is the idea that there is more to mobile than building an app, that what brands should be looking to create is an overall connected digital experience for their customers.

The final one is We Make Mobile. This is the idea of tapping into whatever is the most relevant mobile tech out there, whether it’s Augmented Reality (AR) or location-targeting to create amazing, customer-enriching experiences. An AR app for Audi, for example, enables the consumer to experience what it’s like to be inside the car from their mobile phone or tablet.

Hartigan is pleased with the progress the company is making, and believes Fuerte’s clients are equally enthused by the possibilities mobile offers. “We want to make mobile a natural part of every strategy a company puts together to keep their customers engaged and loyal,” she says. “We’re on a journey to help all our clients realise the full potential of mobile. This is an industry that never stands still; it’s a privilege to help great brands make sense of it and profit from it.”

Sharon Hartigan is client operations director at Fuerte