ESCRS Website Design
The once clear vision linking ESCRS’ digital touchpoint had declined in the pre-Covid period. As the association grew new needs arose and the team were pushed to respond quickly leading to eleven disparate platforms popping up with no unifying vision to guide them. After consulting with ESCRS leadership we set out to create a new digital future for ESCRS and create a better site for those all about sight.
The ESCRS’ digital needs exploded in the run up to the pandemic with 11 websites and tools being launched independently to serve specific groups and needs. Unfortunately housing these separately lead to a disorientating user experience with many members finding it difficult to navigate between sites, find content that was relevant to them or connect with the ESCRS association brand.
As a creative team we worked with the client to define what success would look like for their digital offering and how this could be achieved by creating one seamless experience. The main website would be able to take current and prospective members anywhere from learning about the society’s history to membership registration and renewal as well as direct users to industry specific tools or educational content. The site was also built to provide a platform for promoting and registering for ESCRS events such as their annual summer and winter meetings that regularly attract over 5,000 attendees and is one of the primary income streams for the association.
By creating a more casual and entertaining tone of voice we were able to connect with the society members and create a product that spoke to them and their needs. Whilst there were restrictions on some of the more technical writing, it did not mean it had to be dull or boring. The new layouts and graphical treatments created a more fully branded experience which naturally spread into the onsite activations and events as well as social media, connecting the members with the ESCRS brand at every possible moment.
Through these connections we enabled key stakeholders to realise the society’s digital and brand potential of ESCRS and allowed them to see their digital future more clearly.
The Impact
Initially the reviews with the internal client and the various work groups contributing content to the new site were cautious, the new layout and look were appreciated but the tone of voice took some time to get used to and the client found it difficult to adjust to the value this bought to the association. Once we started talking to members and receiving feedback from those actually interacting with the site on a daily basis the concerns were put to one side.
Both prospective and current members recognised a greater understanding of ESCRS’ vision and goals, a much improved ease of navigating of the site and how the perception of ESCRS was greatly increased in the audience’s mind thanks to this digital first mindset and valuing of creative thinking, something which to this day has seen a great deal of trust placed between the ESCRS leadership team and MCI UK Creative Team.
When comparing the stats during an internal review between the client, creative and account teams we saw they spoke for themselves and were largely aligned with what we were seeing from the anecdotal feedback. A 19% reduction in bounce rate, 7% increase in returning users and more than 31,000 new users in the first 6 months of the launch, aligned with the increase in memberships and event registrations seen by the ESCRS membership and event teams.
