Web Site Makeovers

Many Minnesotans have fond memories of going fishing for the first time, the first fish ever caught, or an early-morning mist rising over northern lakes. It was that type of sentimentality the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, a non-profit organization in Alexandria, Virginia, used to attract visitors to its most recognizable Web site, TakeMeFishing.org. But while the approach tugged at heartstrings, it wasn’t persuading enough site visitors to actually take up fishing or boating, says Maria Knight, the foundation’s online strategies manager.

So Knight enlisted the Minneapolis-based advertising firm Colle+McVoy to help reposition its brand and overhaul the site with the goal of convincing more visitors to buy a fishing license, wet a line, or step into a boat after experiencing the site. “Our research found that while the site had good brand awareness, it was probably rooted too much in nostalgia and wasn’t compelling or exciting enough to get people out on the water,” says Stacy Janicki, an account director with Colle+McVoy. Competing against other outdoor recreational options, Wii games, and various modern diversions, today’s parents and grandparents have difficulty persuading kids that time in a fishing boat will be sufficiently entertaining.

Colle’s creative staff used the slogan, “On-the-water memories aren’t made, they’re caught,” as a theme for the makeover. “The new imagery on the site is more action oriented and shows the social and fun side of boating and fishing, rather than just the nostalgia,” Janicki says. “We wanted people to engage more with the site and get them thinking differently about fishing and boating.”

One way they’ve done that is by including videos that feature feats by expert anglers, such as casting a line to crack an egg 50 yards away and hitting clay pigeons mid-air.

Customer Oriented

Colle’s first step was to rethink the site’s information architecture, which Knight says wasn’t as user-friendly as it could be. “The way the content and navigation was organized made it hard for people to find what they needed quickly,” she says.

The site contained vast amounts of fishing and boating data, including information from departments of natural resources in each state on fish species, places to fish, fishing techniques, articles on conservation, and the like. “We had to look at about 2,500 pages of site content and figure out how to ‘rebucket’ it from a usability and navigation standpoint,” Janicki says.

Based on data gathered from surveys and focus groups of users who had tested some redesign options, the foundation opted to reorganize the site around three main content areas: learn, plan, and equip. “It was learn about fishing and boating, plan by helping users find locations near them to fish or boat, and equip by helping people understand what equipment they needed for those activities,” Knight says.