Creative Keys - Case Studies of Results

Case Studies of Results
Examples of How We Work with You

Our goal is to help you succeed in your quest for a successful and hassle-free Internet presence, whether or not it is with a new website or help with an existing site.

Letter from Walter Wright, Main Street Tremont Manager, Tremont West Development Corporation:
“Chris, thank you so much for meeting with my intern and me today regarding the Main Street Tremont Website. Your knowledge, enthusiasm and willingness to share your expertise are the qualities that make you such a great asset to the non-profit community – not to mention the excellence of your Web design! It was a terrific and educational meeting, and we are inspired to put your ideas into practice and make our site that much better!
We are so grateful to have you on our team!"

The following Case Studies will explain how Chris King of Creative Keys works together with you on a project. What is the project? What are the goals of the project? Who is the target audience? What content should be included and how can we help visitors find that information easily? Aesthetically, what style and tone will reflect your personality? How will we work efficiently and exchange information?

Project: Available Retail Spaces in Cleveland, Ohio Neighborhoods
Realizing that there are a wide variety of retail spaces available in the diverse Cleveland neighborhoods and that the community development corporations (CDCs) working to improve their neighborhoods are some of Cleveland’s best kept secrets, the Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition (CNDC) applied for funding to create a website for their member groups to highlight their districts and introduce available spaces for both sale and/or lease.

Target Market: developers, realtors, funders, entrepreneurs and prospective residents

Goals:

To pique the interest of developers across the nation, so that they will contact the CDC of the district of choice.
To highlight the area, demographics, assets, features and special projects of each neighborhood district.
To celebrate the diverse neighborhoods and establish a presence on the Internet for those participating.

Click to visit the Retail Spaces website

Home Page

Design and Development of the Site: to create different paths for visitors to find the information they seek and make navigation highly usable, we have included the following:

A “Locator Map” with clickable stars to take one to the location of choice.
A “Search” engine for the entire site.
A table with available space sizes, that lists links to the districts with spaces available in those sizes.
A “Neighborhoods” page that lists all districts included.

Exchange of Information: the website is updated quarterly, so an effective interchange of information is imperative. The contacts that are responsible for each CDC’s retail districts send their updates by e-mail and/or fax. Additional neighborhood districts may be added, so a description of the area, assets, features, special projects and available spaces are sent to Chris King of Creative Keys and she takes photos, creates a map of the area, adds the district to the Locator Map and the Neighborhoods page.

Table of Sizes and Locator Map

Sample Neighborhood Page with maps and table of available retail spaces

Results Achieved: participating CDCs have received consistent contact from potential developers, increased interest in their neighborhoods and between 4,000 and 6,000 unique visitors monthly.

Project: Mary Hamilton, Storyteller
As an independent professional who is well-known as a nationally acclaimed storyteller, Mary Hamilton knew that she wanted to add the presence of the Internet to her visibility. Mary has created many excellent products and wanted a sales venue in addition to her snail-mailed newsletter and in-person performances.

Target Audience: teachers, librarians, families, adult audiences, festival producers, meeting planners, other storytellers and storytelling organizations

Goals:

To let the target audience know, in detail, the performances and programs Mary offers.
To add to Mary’s credibility by including her interesting bio and her impressive resume.
To share information articles that will benefit storytellers and wannabe storytellers.
To help teachers use Mary’s products in the classroom when they don’t have her in person.
To let visitors know where she has been and will be during the year.

Home Page

Sample Interior Page

Design and Development of the Site: Mary describes herself as plain-talking and down-to-earth. She wanted to include a great deal of content without a lot of graphics and/or photos. Together, we chose a color scheme that was friendly, comfortable, easy-on-the-eyes and low-key. We made navigation work effectively by including a plethora of cross-links, so that, for example, someone who is only interested in a family performance could click and be there. If someone wants to know how to use one of Mary’s products (possibly in a classroom), they click and will be taken immediately to a description of suggestions.

Exchange of Information: Mary and Chris met in person for a couple of hours at a conference and discussed the Preliminary Questions, along with Mary providing photos and graphics. Following the meeting, while Chris was working on the overall design, Mary sent comments and copy through e-mail. As a page was posted on Creative Keys’ working site, Mary would check for changes and/or typos. Everything was transmitted electronically.

Results Achieved: Mary started receiving orders from her Story Store within less than a month from the initial launch of the site in 2003. This has continued along with excellent traffic. She also appreciates the updating of her events and programs.

Project: Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytelling (O.O.P.S!)
Being in existence and holding an annual conference for twenty years, O.O.P.S! decided that it was time to embrace the Internet and achieve a presence for the group and its members.

Target Audience: O.O.P.S! members, storytellers and wannabe storytellers, storytelling groups and guilds, teachers, librarians, families, adult audiences, festival producers, meeting planners, potential featured tellers for the conference and those who want to find out more about storytelling.

Goals:

To make the target audience aware that we exist as a lively, friendly and helpful group.
To introduce the Board of Directors to members and others interested in becoming involved with the group.
To describe the benefits of membership and provide a form for joining.
To offer a low-cost listing in a Directory of Storytellers for members.
To market events, especially the Annual Storytelling Conference in central Ohio.

Home Page

Sample Interior Page

Design and Development of the Site: Because O.O.P.S! wears many different hats, we needed a website that shows that we are a credible and serious organization, but also a fun, lively and friendly group. Besides offering easy and straight-forward navigation, O.O.P.S! wanted to have a Directory of Storytellers that promoted members with easy contact and links to their websites.

Exchange of Information: Chris King is an active Board member of O.O.P.S!, so already had most of the information at her fingertips. She attends the conferences, takes photos, and each year takes individual photos for the Directory. The Directory has been created to be easily updated, and includes a downloadable application form.

Results Achieved: Storytellers included in the Directory have realized many gigs from being easily found on the Internet. The recent O.O.P.S! Conference was attended by many newcomers to the group who "found out about O.O.P.S! through the website and high listing in the search engines."

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You May Contact Chris King at: chris@creativekeys.biz