Elevated the brand from “RFP speak” to one that clearly expressed their story, mission and value proposition
Kept initiatives rolling while the new marketing leader built out the team
Continue to serve as a strategic extension of the team, enabling Illuminate to do more with less
Positioning the company to generate leads from their website
Illuminate Education, an edtech startup providing student assessment tools to K-12 public schools, was in desperate need of new positioning and messaging. They also needed a new website ahead of the company’s peak selling season–one that could be more of a lead generation engine and sales tool. It needed an easy to use CMS so internal users could easily update content. They also wanted an overview video for the home page.
As with many tech startups, the company was investing heavily in product development and sales. The marketing department was thinly staffed. So, when a new director of demand gen came on board, his first call was to EM for support.
Creating a new foundation
We provided a team that included specialists in Positioning, Research and Strategy; Lead Gen; SEO; Project Management; Storytelling & Creative Direction; Visual Design, and Web Design and Development.
They did interviews with internal stakeholders and clients; a competitive analysis of both branding and website; website user testing; SEO keyword analysis; and a site architecture review.
From our research, we created a Discovery Learning Document, positioning Illuminate as The Education Intelligence Platform. This supported the next phase of strategy work–creative brief, SEO recommendations, marketing funnels, and website wireframes.
We then moved into website design and video production. For the website, we developed multiple design concepts and built a responsive, SEO friendly website on WordPress. We integrated the site with their marketing automation tech stack.
To create and produce the video, we created a script and worked with an LA-based studio.
Once our work was completed, we provided WordPress training, tracked key website metrics, and additional user testing.
“EM can play any role and help out in almost any marketing specialty. Instead of hiring a bunch of people, I use EM as a retainer.”
A solid foundation and a go-to partner
Our team gave the new marketing leader room to breathe by keeping critical projects moving while he settled into his new role and built out the marketing team. We also helped him strategically reposition the company in a way that was more customer friendly and also more aligned with their mission and value proposition. That laid the foundation for future marketing programs. EM continues to serve as a strategic partner as the company grows.
