Winter Fun
Website Design / marketing
Project Overview
Launched: October 2014
Industry: Government
Winter Fun was designed to showcase Allegheny County’s winter and holiday activities.
The main County website included this information. However, it’s outdated design - and lack of a responsive layout - meant it wasn’t much of a modern marketing tool. It was undergoing a redesign, but certain marketing efforts required a temporary solution in the meantime.
The old County website wasn’t very mobile or marketing-friendly. Not only did it have an aged feel, but the small content area limited layout possibilities. Plus, the winter activities and holiday events were housed in different areas of the site.
Evolution of an Idea
The concept for Winter Fun actually evolved from two small projects launched the year before.
At the time, I was working in my previous position as Webmaster for the Department of Human Services. At the request of the Division of Computer Services (DCS), where I currently reside, I created two, one-page responsive websites. There were actually the first responsive sites released by Allegheny County.
The first site was called Holiday Happenings and, as the name suggests, highlighted key holiday events around the region. The second site, Winter Fun, showcased the winter activities available at the County’s nine parks.
The following year, when I became the Web Manager & Creative Director for DCS, I approached the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) with the idea of combining the two sites. I suggested that we also include the pertinent details such as ticket prices, hours, directions, and the like. That way, visitors had everything in one place.
He loved the idea, so we got to work!
The original Winter Fun (mobile) and Holiday Happenings (desktop). The design was fairly simple. Each event or activity was represented by an image. By clicking the “Details” link (or the image itself), visitors were taken to the appropriate website for more information.
Bringing It to Life
Working in tandem, the Chief Marketing Officer and I outlined the criteria for the site:
Two Ways to Find Activities - We recognized that there were two ways site visitors would search for activities. Some visitors would be interested in the activities at a specific park. Others, however, would want to see every park that offers a particular activity. To accommodate this, we included the options of “By Park” and “By Activity” in the main navigation and organized the site accordingly.
Navigating by Activity. The “Ice Skating” page, found under “By Activity” in the main navigation, displays the parks that have rinks. There is also pertinent information such as hours, season passes, and gift certificates.
Navigating by Park. Selecting a specific park - whether through the main navigation or an activity page - brings the user to a page like the one above. All of the available activities at that park are listed - along with directions, hours, pass information, and a link to upcoming events. Thus, no matter how a user navigates the site, they’re easily connected with the details they need.
Integrating Social Media - Since the site was being used for marketing purposes, we integrated the County Twitter and Instagram feeds into the footer. We also advertised the hashtag #ACWinterFun to encourage followers to post their own photos and experiences.
Homepage Organization - Because visitors would be landing here from radio, print, and online ads, we wanted the homepage to quickly and completely show what the site was about. Thus, the prominent slider representing all of the activities. Then a section highlighting the holiday events. And, finally, the Find Your Spot section where the three largest parks are highlighted.
Results
Winter Fun became the main URL used in the County's winter marketing efforts. Since it's launch in October 2014, the site has received 84,853 pageviews (65,600 of those unique). Not bad for site that is only advertised seasonally, and has only existed for two seasons.
Also, when the ability to purchase park passes online was launched in winter 2015, Winter Fun served as an established gateway to advertise that functionality. This was an important component, as park passes are a large source of revenue for the County parks.
Despite it's success, however, the site's days are currently numbered. The redesign of the main County website was completed in November 2015, making Winter Fun unnecessary. But it was a fun project, and excited the County staff as it tackled the main website's redesign.
