Blackboard Customer Story

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1 Blackboard Customer Story

2 Contributor Jon Gold Director, Web Strategy & Design Website Industry Education Founded 1997 Headquarters Washington DC Markets served 19,000 clients in 190 countries, including 1,900 international institutions Web strategist Jon Gold combines technical and design expertise with marketing best practices to deliver online customer experiences that increase connections and engagement. The depth of his expertise spans hands-on strategic planning and execution in all areas of digital marketing and communications. He is well versed in responsive and adaptive mobile friendly experiences, as well as web usability research, information architecture planning, SEO and content strategy. As director of Web Strategy and Design at Blackboard, a powerhouse in the online education business, Jon oversees the planning, strategy and digital experience for all customer facing websites and portals. His previous work includes web management, user interface design, web development, CMS migrations, and other digital initiatives in a variety of industries. Jon earned his Bachelor of the Arts with an emphasis in Imaging and Digital Arts from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. 1 Blackboard Customer Story

3 Inspiring the World to Learn; Inspiring Visitors to Learn About Blackboard Long known as a leader in the Education Technology space, and a pioneer of the Learning Management System (LMS) industry, Blackboard has actively evolved to meet the needs of the education industry and expanded its business with new solutions that inspire the world to learn. With a growing portfolio and rapid international expansion underway, Blackboard s web presence had become its go-to vehicle to connect its products and services with users and leaders in Higher Education, K-12 and Professional Educational; but its current Web Content Management system couldn t keep up. Blackboard supports: 80% 1/3 92% of the schools listed on the Top 50 Times Higher Education Reputation Ranking U.S. school districts, serving over 20 million K-12 students of the top online bachelor degree programs After implementing SDL Web, Blackboard quickly increased conversion by 14% in the first year, and now delivers a consistent, scalable global web experience to all visitors. 2 Blackboard Customer Story

4 The education industry has seen its share of changes over the years. The once non-traditional college student has become the new norm, representing about 75% of the higher education market. The K-12 market is changing too, with more students, teachers and parents seeking digital learning and communication opportunities. Evolving expectations have mandated a new way of thinking. Yet, for the most part, the majority of education systems still cater to the traditional learning models. n ne w o e Th Cognizant of this challenge and capable of delivering new ideas that defy the status quo and support learners across the globe in new ways, Blackboard has created what they call the New Learning Experience, and bridged the disconnect to meet learner expectations. nal college student h o i t i d as b tra n eco no me e nc t he A Global Assignment 3 Blackboard Customer Story m or

5 Putting the student at the center of everything it does, Blackboard has positioned itself as more than just an LMS provider, delivering cutting edge technologies and data capabilities that include mobile apps, teaching and learning tools, communication and conferencing capabilities, campus commerce and security solutions, and services that support institutional needs for enrollment, financial aid, student retention, course materials purchases and more. Jon Gold, Blackboard s Director of Web Strategy and Design, explained, Advancing the globalization of our corporate web properties and all of our digital communications and campaigns became a top priority. Effectively communicating our expansive solution set, reinforcing our brand identity and meeting the needs of an international audience required an extension of our web presence. We had to find a way to support our existing customers and bring in our new customers and engage and educate all of them on the learning experience of the future. conferencing capabilities campus commerce security solutions financial aid communication capabilities enrollment services data capabilities student retention teaching & learning tools mobile apps course materials purchases cutting edge technologies 4 Blackboard Customer Story

6 Blackboard Does its Homework Blackboard s previous website delivered a one-size-fits-all web experience that didn t align with its business focus on collaboration, innovation and flexibility. And while highly customized, there were style inconsistencies and with its content management tool, updates were labor intensive, security patches were a challenge and the site couldn t scale to meet the company s growing global needs. Static sites were built to support our international efforts as a stop-gap, but that couldn t adequately sustain our growing worldwide customer network. We wanted to deliver a web experience that would meet the needs of both existing and prospective customers, highlighting the solutions specific to their market needs, in whatever geographical region they lived, in whatever language they spoke, and from whatever device they used, notes Gold. 5 Blackboard Customer Story

7 Additionally, with more learners relying on digital devices, Blackboard wanted to deliver a mobile experience, consistent with the cutting-edge mobile experiences it delivered through its products. Focused on supporting the retention of its existing client base, as well as new revenue generation, Blackboard sought to implement a web strategy that would drive brand awareness, deliver localized content and increase traffic. The company turned to SDL. 6 Blackboard Customer Story

8 SDL Gets an A+ Blackboard wanted more than just a CMS and saw value in SDL s comprehensive suite. SDL Web fit the bill as a solution that would scale to meet Blackboard s growth goals and international expansion, while also aligning nicely with its existing campaign and digital tools. SDL Web s open architecture was a primary advantage. We felt the sky was the limit in terms of what it offered from a content delivery and management perspective, but also how it integrated with other platforms, said Gold. We wanted to move to a component based architecture that would allow us to be more agile in publishing meaningful content in the most timely manner. We felt the sky was the limit in terms of what it offered from a content delivery and management perspective 7 Blackboard Customer Story

9 Another driving factor in Blackboard s decision was SDL s strong background in translation management. Blackboard is gaining substantial traction globally and given the company s current international reach and ongoing growth strategy, SDL s language technology allows Blackboard to take its translation capabilities to the next level. Implementation partner Tahzoo supported the migration from Blackboard s legacy CMS to SDL Web from the beginning, which eased the process of integrating the systems and getting SDL Web up and running. 8 Blackboard Customer Story

10 More Visitors and Conversions Long After the Bell Rings The SDL, Blackboard and Tahzoo teams posted compelling results. Our new site consolidates content in a way that allows users to get in and get exactly what they need. It s interactive and intuitive. We ve streamlined the web presence for each of our solutions so information is consistent and easy to find. Site visitors are also directed in a more efficient manner to the accompanying support and resource channels, commented Gold. From a branding perspective, we ve also created a central, recognizable identity for our visitors and a high level of visual consistency across numerous regions and languages. SDL s digital media management capabilities also allow us to offer up more ways to engage visitors through video content. 9 Blackboard Customer Story

11 Blackboard has seen an increase in time spent on its sites, and also experienced a 14% surge in conversion rates in the first year after the launch. From an SEO perspective, Blackboard s site maintains high rankings and the company has lowered its bounce rate by 20%. The mobile friendly site is also performing extremely well. We are seeing an 8% increase in engagement and a 9% reduction in bounce rate from mobile devices. As our mobile traffic has evolved, we can now offer an adaptive experience that provides highly relevant links and content for our user base. 14% 8% 9% surge in conversion rates in the first year after the launch Increase in engagement on Blackboard s mobile friendly site Reduction in bounce rate from mobile devices 10 Blackboard Customer Story

12 Operationally, SDL Web enabled Blackboard to increase efficiencies and streamline the entire content management process. Where it used to take three to three-and-a-half team members to manage and publish content, it now takes one. Updates, even global ones, can be completed in a matter of minutes. Our teams are ecstatic about the opportunity that they re given with these tools, as they can make edits inline on our templates without having to really be a technical guru. They can preview content internally to see exactly how each page will look on multiple devices, commented Gold. It used to take three to three-and-a-half team members to manage and publish content, it now takes one. Blackboard content 11 Blackboard Customer Story

13 Going for Extra Credit Today, Blackboard helps millions of people around the world find new ways to learn, connect and advance. And this is only the beginning. Its goal is to make learning more desirable, accessible and meaningful for learners, not a far leap from what it is accomplishing with its website, delivering easy-to-find, relevant content to its visitors. According to Gold, As Blackboard continues to evolve, we are ideally positioned to localize content for an even larger international audience, using our websites to communicate and engage educators, learners and parents about the future of education. We are ideally positioned to localize content for an even larger international audience 12 Blackboard Customer Story

14 Using SDL Web, Blackboard has created a global master site and is completing the migration from its legacy sites to the SDL Web platform. Blackboard s next priority is leverage SDL Web to increase personalization across its verticals and web assets, yet another step toward making both its websites and the education experience more desirable, accessible and meaningful. If your organization is on the fast track to global expansion and in need of a content management strategy that will allow you to scale operations, be more agile in content publishing, and meet growing international demand, we invite you to learn more. SDL_css_ebook_Blackboard_EN_ Learn more at SDL.com. Follow SDL on Facebook and Twitter. SDL (LSE: SDL) is the leader in global customer experience. With a completely integrated cloud solution for content management, analytics, language and documentation, SDL solves the complexity of managing your brand s digital footprint as it grows across multiple languages, cultures, websites, devices and channels. Seventy-nine of the top 100 global companies trust SDL to help them create authentic, in-context customer experiences that drive demand and loyalty. SDL brings your brand to the world, and the world to your brand. Copyright 2015 SDL plc. All Rights Reserved. All company product or service names referenced herein are properties of their respective owners. 13 Blackboard Customer Story