Introduced a Local Brand to a National Audience
Thea Cooke
The Challenge
Fannie May is a premium chocolate confectionary with a legacy presence in the Chicago area for over 100 years. They wanted to extend their brand presence nationally, however they had no direct-to-consumer website, and their brand perception was plagued by subpar, third-party sales on Amazon.
The Solution
To help Fannie May achieve their goal, our team created a content strategy that paid homage to their century-old history while taking the brand into the modern, online era. We then designed and crafted a shoppable website from the ground up that would provide the best branded experience possible for both new and legacy customers.
The Impact
The designed and tested website was launched in September 2021 to be ready in time for the holiday season. In the months of November and December within that first year:
- The new website brought in over $1.3 million in revenue
- The conversion rate grew to a healthy 6.2%, with an average of 1.26 transactions per user
- Thousands of orders were placed from all corners of the country, including California, Florida, Texas, and New York
The Process and Deliverables
Research Trip
An on-site research trip enabled our team to experience the local feel of the brand first-hand and examine which aspects of the experience could be transferred online. This included speaking to Fannie May team members at both the executive and service level, capturing imagery to support the creative team later with aesthetic input, and talking to locals about their experience with and affinity for the brand.
Competitive Audit
I then conducted an audit of the premium chocolate space. My resulting insights led to a communications strategy that positioned Fannie May as an American craft brand in order to differentiate them from the European-centric or globally-minded chocolate brands that dominate the market.
Persona Updates
Building off of the brand's previous research, I collaborated with our team to update the audience personas based on our latest research and insights. Then I built out the audiences' needs based on their functional and social/emotional requirements. This ensured we covered not only the transactional tasks that our audience wanted to do, but that our experience would go beyond transaction to delight their customers.
Content Strategy
With our customer's needs defined and the content requirements clarified, I built out the content pillars and considerations that would best achieve the business objectives. While not prescriptive, a visual framework helped convey how much content or investment would need to be committed to each pillar.
Information Architecture and Sitemap
With the content strategy approved, I developed an information architecture and sitemap to inform the website. This process ensured that the structure and content would meet the needs of our audiences.
Wireframes
With the approved site structure, I built out mobile-first wireframes for each page template. Some custom features were proposed to enhance the experience with the brand, so I also provided annotated wireframes to the creative and dev teams.
Monthly KPI Reports
Once the site was launched, it was important to measure success through data analysis. I helped build insights for and present an analytics report alongside our Growth Sciences and SEO teams to clients and stakeholders. It featured performance highlights for defined KPIs, observations about customer behavior, and optimization recommendations. This reporting cadence continued through 2021, 2022, and 2023.
What Made this Project Unique
The ability to craft a website from scratch rather than refreshing an existing property allowed me to focus on an end-to-end solution that prioritized quality, consistency, and adherence to the brief.
I enjoyed researching a brand with such a deep history and strategizing how best to position it to modern audiences while ensuring relevancy. This sort of exercise in message management and site structure is highly satisfying to build.
