The PROJECT:
The IHG Army Hotels website was in need of some TLC. It was not responsive and the content was not truly telling the story of the brand. With the potential to sign on more branches of the defensive forces, they needed a refresh and an entirely new approach. We needed to create a brand site that would better serve its very specific user base, while also selling the brand to potential investors. We also redesigned the hotel websites to better present each hotel's offerings.
Additionally, there was no mapping to show where the content came from, or how the site was built. As we built out the new experience, we had to create a content map to illustrate what content came from our CMS, and what was to be authored by the content team.
MY ROLE:
UX Architect & Content Strategist
DATE:
Launched February 2019
MEDIUM:
Responsive Web
THE APPROACH:
The first thing to consider for this project was that IHG Army Hotels is actually more of an umbrella than a true brand on its own. Within that umbrella we feature Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, Historia Hotels, and IHG Army branded hotels. Because of this we needed to make sure that whatever we created would serve all brand identities at once.
I worked closely with stakeholders and team to create a new experience to better serve the IHG army hotels brand. The classic experience contained several chunks of nonessential information, and there was content the brand hadn't been able to add and highlight since the last time the site was touched.
By working closely with stakeholders I was able to really grasp what they wanted to share. I created a new page structure that clearly told the story of the PAL brand. We highlighted their community involvement, more clearly presented what IHG Army hotels is, and explained the benefits of working for the brand.
I also took on the role of content strategist, creating mapping for the brand that hadn't existed before.
Brand.com Wireframe Samples
Hotel Website Wireframe Samples
Content Strategy Samples
Content Inventory
