Tech Talk: Rebranding on the Web — and Then Some

In April, the United States Fund for UNICEF relaunched its Web site, www.unicefusa.org, to accommodate the recent global rebranding of UNICEF, add user and donor functionality, and increase overall Web visibility.

Partnering with Internet-software and -services firm Kintera, the organization focused on three core elements: fundraising, advocacy and education. Among the many new features, the site now captures member data for a more personalized Web experience, deploys eNews and allows visitors to take immediate action on children’s issues.

One of the main objectives of the redesign, says Tim Ledwith, director of interactive donor communications for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, was to improve “user-experience” during donation processing and page browsing. The organization also wanted to expand online options for people purchasing its cards and gifts, since it boasts a fairly large e-commerce component.

“Our previous site had just become outdated and obsolete, both in terms of functionality and architecture,” Ledwith says. “The design was five years old.”

Despite fairly steady growth in online donations and e-commerce, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF simply wanted to give supporters more options. In fact, according to reports, the organization saw a 28 percent increase in the amount of money raised via the Internet from 2002 ($1.04 million) to 2003 ($1.3 million).

Online-donation results since the April launch have yet to formally be tallied and reviewed, and Ledwith says it will require a longer period to conduct analysis. However, since the launch, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF received a record-breaking $1.1 million Web mail-in donation — a gift five times larger than any received in that category.

Going forward, Ledwith says, the organization plans to use Kintera’s content-management system to launch an online pledge program and leverage more personalized, targeted e-mail campaigns.

Aside from the myriad new site features, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF redesigned with re-branding in mind, including changing its logo, tag line and color palette.