University of California at Irvine
This project was so amazing. Aside from getting to go out to Orange County in the middle of Pennsylvania winter, we had one of the most motivated and dynamic teams as a client that one could wish for. They were truly courageous, allowing us to push their boundaries. I like to think we made them proud.
Understanding the Assignment
UCI was ranked sixth in the UC schools in terms of how many admitted students chose them over their competing UC schools.
They wanted to be third.
On one hand, simplistic goals are amazing for marketers. On the other hand, if you miss the mark…there’s no hiding it.
Our team knew that UCI wasn’t pulling any other marketing levers this year. So it was down to the website to get them to their goal.
My Contributions
Discovery
Conducted discovery with our UCI stakeholders and several student and parent focus groups to pin down perceptions of the target market
North Star
Collaborated with all stakeholders to develop the the strategy and roadmap that guided the entire project
Authenticity
Designed and implemented a content strategy that doubled down on authenticity (sorely lacking in competitive sets) and hidden benefits of attending UCI.
Navigability
Improved wayfinding by designing a simplified navigation that surfaced content most relevant to the motivations of our target audience.
Analytics
Enhanced trackability by ensuring key interactions were coded in a way that integrated well with the web analytics suite UCI was using.
Differentiators
Worked with faculty and staff to surface the groundbreaking STEM research being done on the UCI campus
Location!
Worked with the design team to bring the campus to life through digital media- integrating drone videos as well a virtual campus tours.
Process
I designed and documented publishing processes and content governance documentation
Extra Credit
I convinced both UCI’s team and our own team that the best way of showcasing campus life and the non-tangible benefits of UCI was to allow the student body to speak for itself.
We got three freshman volunteers to agree to do a video blog each semester through their entire time at UCI.
This put prospective students squarely at the center of consideration. Everyone agreed until the topic of production value came up. I knew this wouldn’t work if it was a “produced” video. It had to come from the students, be unedited and a little … risky.
Thankfully our teams were brave, and we launched this experience with the new site.
WOW WAS IT SUCCESSFUL. The videos were watched and re-watched dozens of times by return visitors, indicating they were focal to decision making.
Unfortunately, it was SO successful that UCI over-admitted students assuming they’d choose other schools and ended up having to rescind 500 admission letters.
