Measurable Impact: Results of a Home Page Brand Test

Measurable impactResults of a

Home Page Brand Test

First, let’s make sure we understand what we need to do.

Branding & Messaging

GOAL OF THE WEB SITE To entice prospects (and parents of prospects) to call to find out more, set up a visit, start the conversation!


TO ADDRESS• Home Page Photo

• Home Page Messaging


THE HOME PAGE SHOULD

#1

#2

Do no harm; don’t block people from going further.

Be general enough to feel accessible to all visitors. Be program agnostic.

Now, let’s articulate qualitiesof the “right imagery.”


PHOTO HUNTING MISSION

Person / people (ideally one person)

Close up (creates connection)

Someone who appears to be mixed race (who you could believe has African, Asian, European ancestry)

Smiling, positive, happy

Warm tones (sunlight, warmth, abstract background with greens, golds)

Movement (not necessarily someone moving, but where the composition has movement, diagonals, abstract, “feels” like motion)

Conveys excitement and energy!

Nice “twinkle” in the eye

Something that inspires, feels positive, feels powerful

Subject’s eyes looking right at camera (close up)

Subject’s gaze looking forward or up or in some “positive” direction, but not necessarily right at camera

Key elements for “the perfect photo”:

Branding & MessagingTo inspire our photo shoot, we found these images. None of these were “it” but they all get at elements of what the right photo could look like.

Here’s a few samples of photos placed within the design.

Now let’s look at messaging.


MESSAGING Many ideas were brainstormed. Then we picked the 3 strongest concepts to further develop and test.


THE 3 CONCEPTS Join the RevolutionYou’re part of something new. You can shape the way agricultural science is applied to our world in real ways. This concept was favored by the faculty, but they admitted that they weren’t sure if it would resonate with everyone.

Secure Your FutureStockbridge grads are very highly sought after in the industry. The school often gets calls asking for the names of graduates and typically the demand exceeds the supply.

Explore Our ProgramsStraightforward and to the point. We have great programs. Let us show you.

We crafted 12 variations that embody those 3 concepts.


THE 12 VARIATIONS Join the revolution.

Make a difference and do what you love.

Build your own future.

Expand your world.

Explore our nationally acclaimed programs.

There’s more demand for our grads... than we have grads.

We have a world to offer.

Land a high-paying gig, straight out of college.

Your employability, your passion, your world.

The degree that will launch your career.

100% of our grads get hired in their field, right out of college.

Land a solid job. Do what you love. Make a difference.

We tested.


13 TEST SUBJECTS

8 Female / 5 Male

Primarily age 18 - 23. One outlier (30-year-old)

A solid handful were pre-med and/or in the sciences (6)

Subjects were told:

Below is a list of possible statements that might appear on a college home page. Do you think the school is... (check all that apply)

[ ] Respected [ ] A hack [ ] Successful [ ] Someplace you’d fit in [ ] Not for you

Our test subjects were representative of prospective students of Stockbridge School.


TEST RESULTS Message # Negatives # Positives

Make a difference and do what you love 1 17

Build your own future. 3 13

Expand your world. 3 13

Explore our nationally acclaimed programs 3 13

Land a solid job. Do what you love. Make a difference. 2 11

Join the revolution! 6 12

Your employability, your passion, your world. 3 9

100% of our grads get hired in their field, right out of college 3 9

There’s more demand for our grads than we have grads 7 9

The degree that will launch your career 5 7

We have a world to offer 7 7

Land a high paying gig straight out of college 9 4

Some key learnings.


LEARNING #1The test shows a clear winner. That’s important. If it weren’t the case, we’d go back to the drawing board and re-test.


LEARNING #2“Make a difference and do what you love” tested solidly.


LEARNING #3“Join the Revolution” only performed in the middle. This isn’t good enough for the home page.


LEARNING #4Even though it’s true, the messaging around “landing a high-paying job” after college came off as “too salesy” and not important.

Based on results, we combined two of the strongest messages.

The photo we launched with is of an actual Stockbridge student,

and was shot on campus.


QUESTIONS?Ask us!

[email protected]

413-586-9596

mailto:[email protected]

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Measurable Impact: Results of a Home Page Brand Test

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