Stakeholders
Media Relations
Timing
December 2023 – May 2024
Summary
This project brought UBC News and the UBC Experts Guide together into a single website with a refreshed look and feel, an expanded target audience, and new time-saving functionality for staff editors.
The Strategy
The look of UBC News had become dated. It existed as a separate website from the UBC Experts Guide, which made little sense. In addressing these aesthetic and technical needs, UBC Media Relations also had an opportunity to re-think its publishing philosophy.
UBC News had always catered to journalists first and foremost. With news media fragmenting and its biggest players losing influence over the general public, the aim was to build a website that would be as much of a destination for the general public as it is for journalists, and allow UBC to play a bigger role in telling its own story.
The Solution
A new, integrated website with a sleek, modern design to serve:
1. working journalists in search of story ideas and sources;
2. news consumers interested in UBC and its strategic areas of focus; and
3. UBC faculty and communications staff who need support with media engagement.
Key features included a reorganized navigation to reflect topics of interest to the general public that are frequently covered on UBC News: Climate & Environment, Health & Medicine, Science & Technology, Society & Culture, and University News.
An Explore section updated each weekday on the home page showcases a curated selection of news items from global media outlets that feature UBC and its researchers.
The Results
While the number of direct visitors to UBC News hasn’t changed significantly, engagement by those visitors has increased. In the first three months following launch, engagement rate among direct visitors increased by 16.2% and the number of engaged sessions per user increased by 5.7%.
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