Background

In 2021, Ascribe Marketing was acquired by a new ownership group. That group needed a seasoned marketing professional to take over the transition from the former owner and leadership group. 

However, this transitionary role turned into a long term work arrangement, with Aurora's CEO becoming Ascribe's fractional CEO for 4 years. 

Outsourced Executive

Initially, a 6 month transition period was needed between the previous owner and CEO and the Aurora executive who was named Managing Director. This provided ample opportunity for Aurora's exec to get ramped up and identify initial areas for improvement. 

From there, the plan was for Aurora executive to stay on for a year to modernize the organization while also stabilizing it after the transition.

Due to the success of this arrangement, an Aurora exec made CEO and stayed for 4 years, until an acceptable candidate was identified and hired. 

Web overhaul

Content

Content was developed first for the site as part of a content first approach to web design. Initially, information architecture (IA) was created to define how content will be organized throughout the site. From there, web copy was written for each of the pages identified in the IA. 

UX

An integral part of the website was to always showcase the services and work. No matter where the user was on the site, it would also loop and direct users back to either the relevant service, or examples of the work of a particular service. 

This included having a robust search functionality so users can easily search different case studies based on the type of work they may be interested in.

Aurora UX designers considered the web copy, and for each page template, outlined and organized the content to best achieve the aforementioned UX goals. 

Design

With a new ownership group, new CEO, and some new strategic focus, the website needed a complete overhaul, along with a slight brand refresh.

The original brand was developed in 2009 and needed a light refresh, that included updated brand guidelines such as colours, default fonts, and updated logo.

The existing site was also not accessible, despite many of Ascribe's clients having accessibility requirements. Thus, the new site's design had accessibility at top of mind.

Asset Development

As part of the site's redesign, there was a request to develop graphic assets to complement the brand and add to a consistent aesthetic. This included icons for each service offering, images to use to complement content, email signature design, and business cards. 

Web Development

Ascribe wanted to use CraftCMS for its new site to better align with sister agencies. This was the CraftCMS project that the Aurora team did, but despite some slight learning curve, no issues or challenges occurred. 

The only build challenge was a dynamic infographic on the homepage which required some more advanced custom code but ultimately was no problem for the Aurora dev team. 

Outcomes

Outsourced Executive

• Modernized, streamlined processes and technology stack
• Increased employee satisfaction, with 100% employee retention, as opposed to a historical 70% turnover year over year
• Updated brand and website

Web overhaul

• Modern design and new CMS
• Consistent brand elements
• Focus on thought leadership and case studies showcasing the work
• Dramatic boost in SEO, from essentially 0 active users per month and zero page rankings, to most pages ranking in Google and dozens of active users a month

You can view the website at ascribeinc.ca.