<Interactive Strategies>

American Chemical Society

services: strategy | design | flash

ACS Publications provides the scientific community the most cited journals in the chemical and related sciences. Our job was to simultaneous redesign the primary website and 35 uniquely branded journal sites - an undertaking that called for careful planning.

Teamwork was key for this project, as it required coordination with ACS and a third-party development firm. We then established a logical information architecture to support a multi-tiered site. Finally, we created a user interface for over 20 templates that paired our creative ideas with conventions for scholarly publications online.

Our efforts were award-winning. ACS Publications won the PROSE award for "eProduct/Best Website or Platform" from the Association of American Publishers.
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Apartment Showcase

services: strategy | search engine marketing

When we took over the paid search engine marketing program for Apartment Showcase, we expanded their keyword list to include low-cost, but high-volume terms for cities, towns and counties where their free Apartment Guide was available.

As a result, total orders for the Guide increased by 93% and site registrations rose 423%. We accomplished this while actually driving down the cost per lead (CPL) by 59%. We also helped implement a search optimization program to boost organic rankings. Taken together, our search programs now drive more than 60% of the site's traffic.

Australian Lamb and Beef

services: strategy | search engine marketing | email marketing

Our marketing work for the Australian Lamb and Beef Association has succeeded by integrating our efforts across the entire life cycle of a new prospect. Our organic and paid search programs start by capturing the thousands of visitors looking for terms such as"beef recipes." We then send them to carefully crafted landing pages and encourage visitors to register. Finally, we send follow-up email to build interest for the long-term and drive repeat visits.

In the first four months of the campaign, we doubled traffic from search engines and cut the cost per lead by 50%. In the year and a half since, we have doubled traffic once again while bringing even more efficiency to the program.

Bacardi

services: strategy | marketing

Interactive Strategies was brought in to consult with Bacardi’s to bring new ideas for how the web could promote their varied liquor brands. We collaborated to develop the Bar.tv concept, a site for cocktail recipes and bar culture, that was intended to capture the thousands of web surfers looking for related content. As part of the work, we managed all aspects of the project, from the development of the concept to the delivery of site content.

Interactive Strategies has also been involved in other aspects of Bacardi’s online efforts, including e-mail and search engine marketing.

BoardSource

services: strategy | design

BoardSource.org serves as a repository of information and resources to assist non-profits learn about important governance issues. The key to success was making this vast amount of data easily accessible by creating a global drop down that organizes all site content into topics. Our strategy also called for carefully cross-promoting BoardSource's consulting services and events.
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Brivo

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

Interactive Strategies was hired to provide a comprehensive site redesign and online marketing program.

While the site was being developed, we decided to move forward with the search campaign by implementing landing pages with new design and messaging. Since we launched these landing pages and optimized their page program, Brivo has seen its conversion rate increase 800% from .42% to 3.9%. The cost per lead has decreased from $630 to $87. Their click through rate on search ads has increased from .76% to 2.27%. While we have increased the paid search budget by just 25%, we have seen the overall effectiveness and efficiency go up by more than 200% on almost every metric.

The new site design will launch in Spring 2009 along with a new site fully optimized for organic search.
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CapitalSource

services: strategy | design | technology | marketing

CapitalSource specializes in commercial lending to companies looking to grow their businesses. Backed by the strength of CapitalSource Bank, CapitalSource offers creative solutions across diverse markets. Our job was to create a seamless web experience to showcase CapitalSource's powerful lending capabilities and the financial stability of CapitalSource Bank.

We achieved this through strategic messaging, information architecture and interactive features, including a dynamic Loan Finder. We also implemented a custom CMS that gives them complete control of the content and features on every page of the website.
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Corporation for Public Broadcasting

services: strategy | design | content | technology

Launched in January 2006, the Partnership for a Nation of Learners web site showcases our ability to tackle complex design and technology issues. During the strategy phase, we worked with CPB to determine the best way to organize their professional development resources. Through the creation of iconography and branded colors, we were able to successfully communicate a complex process that included both visual and textual cues for users.

On the backend, we implemented a content management system and discussion board that allows CPB along with their collaborators to post professional development tools, manage online conferences and registration, and communicate with site users through an email marketing system.
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CRIX International

services: strategy | design | technology | marketing

CRIX International will offer an electronic information exchange for everyone involved in clinical research, including industry backers such as Pfizer. CRIX approached us with an ambitious schedule and we responded by delivering a new brand and marketing site within the month. Our initial goal for the website was to establish the company mission and encourage visitors to register for future updates.

During the next phase of the project, we had to apply our strong history of interface design for a technical application that the company was creating. We worked directly with their programming team to explore the underlying functionality and then helped translate that into a set of user-friendly screens.
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CWDKids

services: strategy | design | marketing

Interactive Strategies conducted extensive market research and a usability study that led to a complete redesign of the CWDKids' site. Among many improvements, we made it easier for customers to search for clothing, add items to the shopping cart and complete the checkout process. Sales quickly increased more than 30% while average order size was boosted 17%. Email signups increased over 60% and inquiries to customer service fell by 9%.

During the redesign, we also carefully considered the impact on search rankings and implemented creative ideas to optimize the web site. CWDKids now enjoys top five rankings at Google, Yahoo and MSN on popular terms such as "children's clothing."
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dotMobi

services: strategy | search engine marketing

dotMobi is the new top level domain launched last year for the growing mobile market. We supported the product launch with an international campaign that covered ten countries and five languages. Unlike many search campaigns, the effort was as much about awareness as it was about direct response. The campaign reached a broad audience with more than 4 million impressions in the first six months of the campaign. The campaign was optimized around registrations at partner sites such as Network Solutions and GoDaddy). Ultimately, we were able to reduce the cost per lead (CPL) by 59%.

Elmendorf Strategies

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

Elmendorf Strategies is one of the area's leading legislative strategy firms. Leveraging years of political experience, Elmendorf Strategies develops national political campaigns for its illustrious list of clients. Our job was to redesign the firm's website and print material to provide a consistently unique, polished and professional identity.

Central to this project was brand and messaging development. Through a full-scale marketing strategy we developed a clean logo design, complemented it with a visually engaging website and set up CMS tools to power news updates. We tied it all together with a suite of print materials that carried the new branding through to their offline marketing campaigns.
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Equality Matters

services: strategy | design | content | technology | social media

Equality Matters was a social networking campaign launched in December 2008. In just four weeks, the campaign attracted more than 400,000 "invited guests" and 120,000 attendees. The goal was to leverage Facebook and its viral capacity to create awareness around equality issues for the LGBT community.

The campaign was centered on a Facebook event where users were asked to attend a virtual "Online March for Equality." Facebook ads were used to generate initial awareness and then word spread virally by leveraging several social networking tactics. A companion website and blog were developed to explain the program and encourage users to submit and share their stories.
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Excitations

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

Excitations came to us with a powerful idea to allow customers to give the gift of an experience such as a hot air ballooning or race car driving. Our challenge was to make the purchase process as simple as sending a book from Amazon. The result is an eye-catching solution with copy that is crafted to reflect the enthusiasm and fun that come with this unique form of gift-giving. The site is powered by an e-commerce system that provides a sophisticated product catalog and CRM solution.

To support the site launch, Interactive Strategies developed several marketing initiatives. Our search strategy delivers more than 65% of traffic and 36% of site sales. Our email designs have seen conversion rates as high as 9%.
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GW University Elliott School

services: strategy | design | content

For more than a century, the George Washington University Elliott School of International affairs has prepared its students to make a difference in the world with an unsurpassed global affairs education. In a city of full of prestigious global affairs schools, our job was to showcase the many advantages of an Elliott School education to prospective students.

Use of color palette and photography resulted in a striking visual design. With a focus on information architecture, we developed an easily navigable site organized by user-type. Finally, we helped the Elliott School speak to their important audiences through appropriate messaging that was consistent with their marketing goals.
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GolfBallSelector.com

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

The GolfBallSelector.com site offers golf enthusiasts the opportunity to find the perfect golf ball. Since users must pay more than $20 for the service, the site had to quickly demonstrate the benefits and encourage conversion at every step. To achieve this, the site includes an online flash demo and video testimonials that. We also provided an e-commerce engine and login system customized to the unique needs of our client's application.

Since the site was new, we had to rely heavily on paid search to drive initial traffic, but our organic program has begun to get traction. As a result, we've driven several hundred thousand users to the site.
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Healthy Women

services: strategy | design | technology | marketing

HealthyWomen.org informs and empowers women with a vast library of resources on women's health issues. HealthyWomen.org needed a user-friendly way for visitors to find information, while encouraging conversations through meaningful community tools.

We built robust, topic-based resource centers by organizing content around health conditions and treatments and life stages. We fostered community with contextual polls, article ratings, blogs and an “Ask the Expert” feature. We powered the site with a custom Drupal CMS that facilitates easy site updates.

HealthyWomen.org was named "Best Site for Women’s Health" in the March 2010 issue of O Magazine published by Oprah Winfrey.

Madison Marquette

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

Madison Marquette is one of the nation’s leading investors, developers and operators of retail and mixed-use real estate. We began the project by developing a new brand identity suite for the company. Then we provided a site design that speaks to the company's varied audiences, which range from wealthy investors to commercial real estate brokers.

Our solution includes a sophisticated interactive flash property map, which can be updated like any other content through the CMS system. To further ease maintenance time and costs, the CMS integrates with the company’s offline property management tool through an automated data sync.
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Maximus

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

MAXIMUS helps "government server the people" by providing key health and human services to communities at the local, state and federal levels. MAXIMUS needed a website to convey the breadth of services they offer, while reinforcing the company's dedication to the communities and individuals they serve.

We highlighted their services with clean navigation and smart user interface pathways. We reinforced the brand with benefit-driven messaging and targeted imagery to represent the people they serve. We powered the site with a Drupal CMS, which also lets them enter SEO keywords when editing pages.
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Mixology

services: strategy | design | technology | marketing

When Mixology first approached us they were without a name, brand or web presence. What they did have? An idea for a new gay and lesbian online dating service and just one month to launch it. Our job was to quickly bring their business goals to fruition with a complete brand and marketing strategy.

We first developed a brand approach - company name, URL, logo and website to resonate with the target audience. Next we implemented a comprehensive marketing campaign? leveraging Facebook, display ads, email and search to reach them effectively.

The result? In just a month and a half we generated over 500 new leads, many of whom became satisfied clients of Mixology.
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Nature Conservancy

services: strategy | marketing

Interactive Strategies serves as the online marketing agency for the Nature Conservancy, one of the nation’s largest non-profits with $1 billion in revenue. In our first project together, we collaborated with The Nature Conservancy to promote their partnership with the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth series through ad banners and search. Our ads saw a CTR four times the industry average.

Since then, we have managed more than fifteen unique paid search campaigns for the Conservancy, including their highly successful Earth Day campaign. In that campaign, we reduced the cost-per-click by 51% and increased actual clicks by 444%. We have consulted closely with the Conservancy to implement better conversion tracking and employ multivariate testing programs using Google Optimizer.
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NBPTS

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

The former NBPTS site was full of content, but the site lacked any visual imagery or marketing messages. So the first thing we did was give the design a heart. We created a new brand around “Every Child Deserves a Great Teacher” and added engaging images of teachers doing what they do best. Then we made the vast amount of information easier to find by organizing the site around the three distinct audiences that we identified in interviews and online surveys.

Since the site launch, email sign-ups have increased tenfold, inquiries to their customer service center are down. In follow-up surveys, visitors report that information is easier to find.
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Next Day Pets

services: strategy | design | technology | marketing

The goal of the Next Day Pets website was to integrate two distinct business models – puppy breeder listings and puppy supplies – into a cohesive user experience.

The first step was creating a new brand identity for Next Day Pets. Bright colors and whimsical, family-friendly graphics were used to create a fresh, fun user experience. Color-coding was also used to help differentiate sections and provide visual cues to help users navigate the complex site. To leverage the more than 2 million site visitors, cross-sell products and increase revenue, we developed a workflow and account registration system for their three distinct user types.
Each page of the site was also carefully constructed using XHTML and CSS to optimize the site for search engines.

PerfectDisk

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

Raxco develops the award-winning PerfectDisk , a hard drive defragmenting solution for home users and enterprises. Our project was to redesign their web site, focusing on the specific needs of each customer segment.  We also streamlined the sales process, providing clearer and more frequent calls to action and more intuitive navigation.

We started by reorganizing the site information and creating a logical information architecture. Once approved, we crafted a clean, more professional design for the site, which included a new brand logo. At the same time, we re-wrote all product copy to make it more concise and compelling. We then wrapped up the project by creating a custom Content Management System and implementing an organic search engine marketing program.
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Research!America

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

Research!America’s challenge was how to organize a vast amount of information and make the new site easy to maintain by internal staff. We started with a content audit and recommended the removal of vast amounts of outdated material; we then coordinated with Research!America’s internal editorial team, providing a workshop on effective web writing and creating a process for updating site content.

On the backend, we implemented our proprietary content management system that allows for complete editing all of all site content, including a special features that allows Research!America to post research data as animated flash charts. The site also includes e-commerce that powers event registration and membership payments. Finally, members have access to member-only content that requires registration and login.
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Streamlogics

services: marketing

Streamlogics is a leading global provider of webcasting applications. After assuming the their paid search program, were more than tripled the number of leads per month while reducing the cost-per-lead (CPL) by more than 50%. We did this by better organizing the campaigns, testing ad copy and focusing bids on more cost-effective niche terms. Also critical were simple design changes we suggested on the landing pages, such as adding a clearer call to action and telephone number.

United Way

services: strategy | design | content | marketing

Launched in May 2008, this site for United Way is meant to bring United Way's new television campaign to life by demonstrating what it means for volunteers to Live United in their local communities. It includes an interactive flash map that quickly engages visitors and encourages them to Join the Movement. Future phases are planned that will allow visitors to share their own story – and will even include a Facebook application. Interior pages make video and photos a central part of the design and user experience.

Finally, we also developed an intranet site intended for United Ways’ thousands of individual chapters to learn about the new brand and guidelines for leveraging the brand assets locally.
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Vastu

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

Our work for Vastu proves how powerful the web can be as a marketing tool for a small local business. We started with a great site design that showcased Vastu's selection of custom furniture and implemented a CMS tool that makes the site easy and inexpensive to maintain.

To increase sales at the store, we employed a paid and organic search engine program that has more than doubled traffic and now accounts for more than 65% of site traffic. Combined with our email marketing program, more than 29% of Vastu's paying customers report they found Vastu through online channels.
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Victory Fund

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

The main goal for the Victory Fund redesign was to increase donations. But first we had to address a larger challenge – the site was not attracting much traffic. When our market research told us that 54% of visitors came to the site looking for political news, we decided to create a political news destination. The entire site is managed by a full-feature Content Management System that provides Victory the tools to market and collect donations on behalf of candidates. Funds collected adhere to complex campaign finance laws and are deposited directly into the bank accounts of individual candidates.

After the site was launched and we implemented a new marketing program, site traffic increased 113% -- and donations are quickly following.
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Winchester Homes

services: strategy | design | content | technology | marketing

After careful market research and usability testing, the site's navigation and content were created around three main audiences: homebuyers, homeowners and realtors. It offers an interface that allows homebuyers to find communities on an intuitive map and then view floorplans, elevations and pricing information.

In recent market research, 70% of visitors rated the site as "better" or "much better" than other homebuyer sites, and 94% were able to find the information they needed. Since the launch, customer service inquiries are down by more than 90% while e-mail registrations have increased more than 300%. The site has also won the prestigious MAME award for best homebuilder website in DC Metro area three of the last four years.
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