CLIENT: VANCITY POSTERING
Boosted online traffic by 1198% for a dynamic outdoor marketing company with a strategic brand redesign, a responsive website, and designing compelling marketing materials.
My Role
Managing & Directing Design & Marketing Contractors, Creative Direction, Brand Design, Graphic Design, Service Design, Usability Testing, Wireframing, Responsive Web Design, Copywriting, SEO, Market Research, Business Strategy.
The Team
Ember Johnstone - Lead Designer & Creative Director / Calvin Mercado - CEO & Lead Strategist/ Tyler St.Germain Marketing Coordinator / Adam Larstone - Graphic Designer
The Impact
• Online traffic to the site post re-design increased by 1198% over 3 months from March-June 2023.
• Conversions online increased 394% and inquiries by 800% over 3 months from March-June 2023.
• Implementing insights from user-testing research and SEO analysis resulted in $7000 of increased sales in 3 days in August 2023.
The Challenge
I stepped into the role of Creative Director at Vancity Postering, taking charge of revamping their outdoor advertising brand. The motivation behind this redesign was straightforward—user feedback. They had been receiving fewer bookings than expected, and their inbox was flooded with client emails either complaining about the website or asking the same questions. It was clear: we needed to make the website more user-friendly. On top of that, large orders from potential clients in the marketing world were often lost, because they claimed it was a hassle to get started due to difficult to navigate online options. They claimed that they found the whole process to be too much work, and did not follow through with their orders.
My Approach
The usability issues on the website warranted a full redesign with SEO best practices in mind. Shifting from Yahoo Web Builder to Shopify gave Vancity Postering the freedom to update their products and services as needed, make the website easier to use for their customers, and to position the company as an accessible choice for businesses seeking effective advertising solutions. The comprehensive visual guidelines developed would also be tied into any outdoor marketing material, creating a cohesive brand identity to differentiate their business from competitors, build trust with their audience, and give them the right first impression.
Background Research
Competitive Analysis
An essential phase in the redesign process involved a thorough competitive analysis. This was particularly crucial due to the niche industry, especially in Vancouver, where gaining a competitive edge and achieving top search engine rankings are vital for success.
By examining strategies of local and global competitors, we gained invaluable insights. This encompassed scrutinizing their SEO techniques, keyword usage, marketing approaches, visual identity, and site structures. This insightful analysis not only steered our strategic choices but also fuelled innovation, ensuring our revamped brand and website would stand out and distinctly connect with our audience to establish a strong foothold in this competitive landscape.
Insights
• According to Statista, The Out of Home Advertising market in Canada is projected to grow by 1.87% (2023-2027) resulting in a market volume of US$1bn in 2027.
• No local competitor offers in-house printing, online ordering, or chat functions on their site - demonstrating a clear opportunity for Vancity Postering to leverage convenience to increase conversions.
• Successful brand identities that ranked well displayed bold, bright graphics, colours, and text along with photos featuring liminal spaces, posters in action, and urban landscapes.
• Local companies lacked cohesive brand identities, SEO structures, and had hard-to-identify contact information which meant that a simple and easy to use digital platform could quickly take over the outdoor advertising market.
• Companies that offered a range of product and campaign sizes ranked better and showed greater market share.
User Research & Demographics
I systematically organized data from previous clients, encompassing categorizing information related to ad-spend, industry affiliations, and the geographical locations of their chosen campaigns. By structuring this data, I gained valuable insights into client spending patterns, specific business sectors, and regional presence. These organized insights then formed the basis for refining the brand's visual identity and messaging, ensuring that each product and service would effectively connect with the identified target audience.
Persona Building
Referencing the data organized in the demographic analysis, I constructed three distinct personas to concentrate on. These personas were carefully crafted by analyzing the client segments with the most promising growth potential - including digital marketers, event planners, and creative professionals. By synthesizing the information on ad-spend, industry involvement, and geographical presence, I identified the segments that held the greatest opportunity for expansion. These personas served as the foundation for the brand design, allowing me to tailor the visual identity, marketing strategy, and messaging to resonate specifically with these strategically chosen audience segments.
Visual Identity
Product Moodboard
The moodboard was influenced by the competitive analysis and the personas, connecting the insights gathered to shape the visual direction of the redesign. Incorporating stakeholder input made the moodboard a collaborative space, enriching the design process and ensuring the final outcome resonated with both the business owner and their target audience. Prioritizing bold, bright, interfaces and dark gradients, it facilitated a visual communication process to ensure each element was thoughtfully selected, aligning with successful industry players, and infusing unique brand elements. Vancity Postering wanted to expand their service reach to larger scale clients and advertising - so we incorporated some well-designed large scale advertisements that followed our brand focus into the process.
Marketing Material
Vancity Postering leverages branded posters and billboards as part of their impactful marketing strategy. The broad audience reach works to drive traffic to the site while also advertising their products and services in action. In order to be consistent with the company's website design, I undertook a redesign of their marketing materials in order to reinforce brand recognition, establish professionalism, and ensure a smooth transition for potential clients from online to offline experiences.
Responsive Web Design
Information Architecture
To kick off the responsive website design process, I held a stakeholder meeting involving a card sorting exercise. This interactive activity proved highly beneficial in clarifying offerings, expanding sections, and prioritizing information. By collectively sorting content cards, stakeholders guided the website's structure, ensuring a clear presentation of different services and options. This process facilitated discussions on content hierarchy, guaranteeing important details were highlighted, and each page was appropriately expanded upon to meet user needs.
This hands-on approach established a strong groundwork for an organized and user-friendly responsive website design.
Prototyping
Breaking the site map down into prototypes for each page allowed me to quickly iterate the site content and layout based on stakeholder input and user feedback. Referencing the style guide to ensure consistency, I developed some options for the design of the overall site as well as each individual page.
User Testing
I conducted prototype testing with 5 users from VCP’s target audience group. Notably, 4 out of 5 respondents expressed uncertainty regarding Vancity Postering's distribution zones for each service offering. An interesting observation was that including a Google Maps image along with a written explanation heightened confusion during subsequent testing. Consequently, the decision was made to design custom branded maps to improve clarity on our services. The outcome was noteworthy – all 5 users reported a significantly improved understanding of this essential information.
On Page & Technical SEO
Approach
Implementing comprehensive on-page and technical SEO strategies resulted in a remarkable 1198% increase in website traffic. By optimizing content, meta tags, and internal linking, the site's visibility in search engine results dramatically improved. Simultaneously, technical enhancements, such as optimizing site speed, mobile responsiveness, and implementing structured data, contributed to a better user experience and higher search engine rankings - achieving the #1 spot on search engines for their niche.
Insights
Results
• Consistently the #1 Result for “Postering Vancouver” on Google & Bing.
• The site bounce rate decreased by 80% post-redesign.
• Users reported a much more enjoyable mobile and desktop experience compared to the previous site design.
Takeaways
The site redesign brought about a significant shift in how new clients discovered the company. Prior to the redesign, a substantial 95% of new clients learned about the company through word of mouth, indicating strong referral-based awareness. However, following the redesign, an impressive 90% of new clients reported the website as their primary introduction to the company. This transformation highlights the website's newfound effectiveness as a primary channel for conveying the company's offerings and value proposition. The redesign successfully elevated the website's visibility, positioning it as a central platform for connecting with and informing potential clients, leading to a remarkable shift in the company's client acquisition dynamics and positioning it for future growth.