College of Saint Mary

About the Work

College of Saint Mary was looking to enhance WatchMeBloom.com, its microsite for prospective students who want to learn more about the college and its culture.

Phenomblue rebuilt the website, creating an interactive experience that users can navigate through as a current high school student, transfer student, adult learner, graduate student or parent profile. More than 30,000 site visits later, returning visitors exceeded 58% telling the college that visitors like what they see. Users can view interviews of students and explore an illustration of the campus and Omaha skyline to discover what sets the college apart. The experience was enhanced for users by adding a Find Your Path quiz, stories from current students and a Financial Aid Calculator. 

A marketing campaign surrounding the site included radio, TV and billboards driving potential students to visit WatchMeBloom.com, where visitor details could be collected and those interested were funneled to the college’s main site. Joe Szejk, vice president for enrollment services, told USA Today, ”Our main site experienced a significant increase in overall traffic, and our number of self-initiated contacts [has increased] since the launch.” In fact, half of the prospective students that completed profiles on the site allowing the college to contact them directly, ultimately enrolled.

We like how USA Today went on to put it: “Compared to the college’s website proper, the Watch Me Bloom microsite is designed to be more targeted, marketable, fun — and effective for drawing in potential applicants.”