WIT@Work
How can we increase marketing success for the applied improv program?
Working with the nonprofit, Washington Improv Theater (WIT), I used a classic Design Thinking framework to re-imagine both their internal and external approach to marketing their “WIT@Work” improv-as-professional-development programming.
Role: Project Lead | Timeline: 4 months | Tools: Miro, InDesign, XD
Project Overview
Research
After an initial workshop to set project scope and target audience, I completed 10+ hours of qualitative interviews with stakeholders, focusing on their relationship with improv and key decision-makers in their workplace.
Ideation
Using research artifacts, I developed empathy maps, user personas, and user journeys that helped find pain points and opportunity areas that could be addressed through design.
Results
I discovered that although the workshops were highly successful, potential customers were not aware of past success stories. I worked to establish new workflows that could better showcase case studies.
Research & Ideation
Before diving into research, I first met with the WIT@Work team to better define the audience that we should be targeted for interviews. Given budget constraints, the plan was to focus on the already established WIT audience which includes people who go to shows and participate in WIT’s educational programming. This segment became our lead users, who I called “WIT Ambassadors,” a market segment that fluctuates between educational improv and the professional world.
Initial interview notes arranged by theme.
Journey map of WIT Ambassador.
Empathy map from interviews.
Redefining The Problem
After speaking with lead users about their experience with both improv and their workplace culture, it was clear that to ensure customer conversion was to build a strong connection between past workshop success stories and the target audience. Even though they understood how improv personally helped them in their career, there were no easily accessible case studies that could build a link between their workplace and a WIT@Work workshop.
Solution 1 | Case Study Template
Before approaching external designs, I developed a new internal workflow that would help “translate” successful workshops into ready-to-use messaging that helps the target audience intuitively understand the process and concepts behind WIT@Work workshops. This workflow ensures that every professional development workshop can easily be refitted for marketing.
Solution 2 | Marketing Concept
For external marketing, I developed the Return on Improv (a play on the traditional business concept of “return on investment”) that would be an overarching theme to showcase the newly formed case studies. By re-purposing the information provided in the case study template, the marketing team could promote WIT@Work through multiple channels, constantly re-working the same content under the Return on Improv creative umbrella.
Solution 3 | Website Update
Across all research interviews, the salient pain point that arose was regarding the WIT@Work process and outcomes being “hidden” on the website. To address this, I built out a new section of the website (via high-fidelity prototype) that would allow the user to page through and filter case studies.
Still Images
Additional Information
This project was completed in conjunction with Georgetown University's MPDC-900, "Caspstone" course between September and December 2020. Read the full creative strategy and project overview.