Best of CASE District II Award
 

Institution: Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Title of entry: HWS.edu: A Future-focused Marketing Tool

About this entry: Hobart and William Smith recently completed an intensive rebrand project. Nearly 5,000 members of our community were involved in qualitative and quantitative research that led to a refined brand strategy that is both authentic and aspirational. The first visual representation of the rebrand was revealed in September 2021 when we launched a redesigned hws.edu.

Our team partnered with design firm North Charles Street Design Organization to create a site that served as much as a marketing tool as it did a source of information. We scrutinized every aspect of the site – from site architecture to color palette to individual page copy – to create an experience geared toward prospective students and authentic to the HWS community. New navigation was implemented, more than two dozen page templates were created, fresh copy was written and the entire site is mobile-friendly.

The new HWS.edu leads each user on a journey through the experiences and possibilities inherent to an HWS education. An emphasis on photography gives users an immediate sense of place, an important part of the overall rebranding. Language that is future-focused and directed toward prospective students is woven throughout the site. Academic department pages were reinvented to highlight faculty-student collaborations, including research, co-curricular endeavors and global education opportunities. Representing our commitment to inclusion, every academic department site includes the articulation of that department’s commitment to belonging and equity. Site-wide, we drive revenue for the institution by inviting prospective students to visit or apply and donors to make a gift.