Objectives:
Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, created by Eli Lilly in 1934, is Indiana’s only Smithsonian Affiliate. Families of today engage, explore and discover what it was like to live and play in Indiana’s past.
Kevin Wood Interactive (KWI) partnered with Publicis Indianapolis, a full-service advertising agency, to design and develop a new website for Conner Prairie. The previous site had limited functionality and was not telling the story of their updated brand. Primary Strategic Objectives included: 1) Reshaping the audience’s perception of the brand 2) Communicating the wide variety of activities, events, exhibits and classes 3) Integrating the blogs into the site as a hub for ongoing social media initiatives 4) Increasing search engine visibility and keyword rankings 5) Increase ticket and gift certificate sales.
Solution:
To meet these objectives, the new site was integrated into an enterprise-level, Search Engine Friendly (SEF) Content Management System. (CMS).
Several key areas of interactivity were also developed including: 1) An Interactive Map of the park 2) The ability for Conner Prairie to create Interactive Quizzes by grade level 3) A “Build Your Adventure” web application the allows users to select Age Groups and Topics of Interest to create an itinerary for a specific day.
Since project launch in April 2009, Conner Prairie has seen measurable results in terms of User Engagement. Web ticket sales have brought in significant income, especially when related to the 1859 Balloon Voyage – a new experience that requires a separate ticket purchase. Online gift shop purchases have also increased year over year.
Phase 2 Enhancements and Additions
After site launch, zlinemedia (while I was co-owner) was contracted for support and retained for a web metrics program. Over a three month period, Site Traffic, Keyword Research, Search Engine Visibility and User Behavior was tracked and analysed for improvement and further conversion optimization. Based on the research, phase 2 enhancements included: 1) Landing pages for Special Events and for the PR Newsroom 2) Integrating both Conner Prairie Twitter feed and mentions on the homepage 3) Including newsroom feed 4) Updates to the placement of callouts and Blog Feed.
Other Initiatives
Kevin Wood Interactive (KWI) has since taken over the support and consulting of the Conner Prairie website. Ongoing User Research and Web Analysis has resulted in an overall revision of the site information architecture (AI) and the design of specific landing pages to better address the needs specific target audience segements.
Additionally, KWI collaborated with Publicis Indianapolis on a new microsite for the new “1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana” exhibit. This microsite is the first in a series that will highlight the guest experience in each section of the Conner Prairie Interactive History Park.
