Challenge:
Gardner Galleries is one of Ontario's leading auction firms with special expertise in the fine art anGardner Galleries is one of Ontario's leading auction firms with special expertise in the fine art and estate categories.
In 2009, Gardner Galleries wanted to expand their market from their regional backyard to international communities by offering online bidding services. Research revealed that no regional competitor was doing this thus opening the doors to a can't-miss opportunity for the forward-thinking firm.
Gardner Galleries engaged Link Advertising on a recommendation from the Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery in London, Ontario.

Solution:
Website:
Link Advertising developed an e-commerce website that allowed users to create online accounts, view items for sale, and place bids.
Due to the high-end nature of Gardner Galleries' auctioned items, it was critical that the website display high quality images and video of the auctioned items.
The team also created a Content Management System (CMS) for the site, which allows Gardner Galleries' staff to easily make changes, post new auction items and generally keep the site fresh and current.
In addition, an e-newsletter template was designed as a tool to keep Gardner Galleries in touch with the firm's list of 2600 subscribers.

Results:
Within the first year of launching the website, the number of unique visitors increased by nearly 25%.
Website traffic from around the world also increased. Visitors from 45 new countries began viewing the site and participating in online auctions.