Project:

ULI Americas Awards for Excellence

Description:

I was tasked with generate a new look for Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) socials, with an emphasis on building engagement and community on Instagram. I developed an overall brand strategy and approach, piloted by posts on the ULI Americas Awards for Excellence program, that elevated ULI’s appearance on socials, performed 213% better than previous posts on Instagram, and provided a framework for future social media strategy.

Old look

New look

Process:

Step 1: Identify brand core values and positioning:

Identified ULI’s core values (provide reliable information, help our members, lead the future of the built environment) and what ULI wanted to convey about itself to its Instagram and broader social media audience (trust, industry leading source, professionalism).

Step 2: Identify similar strategies:

Explored professional member organizations, news outlets, and real estate industry organizations to understand their approach to social media. Ask myself: Are these brands executing on their brand positioning? Which of these are applicable to ULI? How is ULI different from this brand? How can these elements work together in a way that is unique to ULI and its brand.

Step 3: Key Inspiration:

World Economic Forum, The Washington Post, and Arup

Step 3: Combine, iterate, and design

Take the proper elements, design the looks in Photoshop and Canva, keep what works and cut what doesn’t. Repeat.

Results:

Instagram Engagement for Americas Awards for Excellence Posts: +213%

Engagement Across All Platforms (For All Posts That Used the New Look Templates): +137%

LinkedIn Engagement (For All Posts That Used the New Look Templates): +14%