CASE STUDY | MAZAMA MEDIA
From Confusion to Clarity
Art Direction, Branding,
& Web Design
As a small digital marketing agency, Mazama Media offers branding, marketing, and web design services to its clients. However, Mazama Media was slow to sell services because its website did not communicate that it was a leader in marketing and web design. The company lacked cohesion in visual design and didn’t effectively communicate its strengths to potential clients. The company needed to clarify its message and more efficiently communicate its ability to solve customer problems.
PROBLEM FRAMING
Brand Assessment
Take stock & recognize challenges
At the start of this project, Mazama Media already had a website and had already put time into marketing itself on social media. They had a logo, but no brand guide or cohesive brand strategy. Cassidy Trier was brought in to assess the brand's strengths and weaknesses, as well as to suggest improvements for the website.
Website Assessment
The website lacked relevant and accessible information about the services the agency provides.
The layout made the website hierarchy confusing and difficult to navigate.
The menu was inaccessible.
Project Goals
1
Create a distinctive brand that shows the Mazama Media personality
2
Demonstrate how Mazama Media can meet customer needs
3
Create a voice for the brand
4
Drive user action, generating new leads for Mazama Media
My Team & Role
As the art director, I led a team of 3 other designers. I also coordinated with our in-house photographer, writers, developers, and data analysts. I was in charge of presentation and communication with stakeholders.
I created the brand guide and website visual design.
ORGANIZE
Creating Cohesion
A solid branding foundation
Before starting work on the website, I needed to organize the brand and create a set of standards I could build upon. I created logo use rules, photography guidelines, and a color palette.
To
FRAMING
Competitive Research
Finding the market gap
There are a lot of similar small digital marketing agencies in the Pacific Northwest, so it was important to understand the competitive landscape. This assessment allowed me to analyze what aspects of the competition's website seemed successful and where there was room for improvement. I also was able to carve out a corner of the market for Mazama Media to claim as their own. I landed on a few key differentiators:
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The work environment at Mazama Media
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Connection to Facebook "insider" resources
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Success with previous clients
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Located in Central Oregon
During this research phase, I also gathered inspiration from large successful agencies' websites. I took note of what they did well and used it as a jumping-off point for the Mazama Media website.
I spoke with Mazama Media's account managers and senior leadership to understand what kinds of questions and problems new and prospective clients usually have when they approach Mazama Media. I learned that most of the agency's clients are small to medium-sized business owners who want to grow their business online.
IDEATION
Building Trust through Positioning
Decluttering & centering user questions
Using the gathered inspiration and competitive analysis, the next step in my design process was to create a hierarchy of messaging. I wanted to cut through the clutter and unnecessary messaging and focus on the kinds of questions clients usually have when they seek out Mazama Media. I defined Mazama Media's principal message as "We have a unique digital marketing framework that will help your business grow." I added language demonstrating how Mazama Media understands the problems that small to medium-sized businesses experience. Using clear language and effective design, I positioned Mazama Media as an expert guide that can help customers through the confusing world of digital marketing.
Knowing that getting more leads was a priority for Mazama Media's leadership, I also added frequent calls to action where users are prompted to "Get a Quote."
After laying out the content in a user-centered hierarchy, I carefully chose visuals to accompany. Following the brand guide I had already created, I took great care to select clean and contemporary mockups that highlighted the agency's best work. I paired images that would communicate how Mazama Media is a technology-forward agency with local Central Oregon flavor.
RESULTS
Impact
Added services & new customers
In the year following the roll-out of this new website, Mazama Media was able to expand its web design services. With a website that demonstrates its ability to create an impactful web design, the agency became a certified Wix Partner, enabling them to beta test new Wix features and receive Wix leads on new accounts.
Mazama Media also separately signed over 10 new web design projects in the year following the release of this website redesign. These web design projects helped to carry the company through a financially difficult time in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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