"One Western Digital" Post Merger Strategy
An alignment strategy was needed for customer facing sales and support digital properties following the merger of four separate companies.
Pitched and developed a three year plan to pull seven eComm, Support and Corporate sites together under a common navigation structure to create a single ecosystem for customer lifecycle self servicing.
The Challenge
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Each site had its own patterns, styles and color pallet that did not align with one another. (SanDisk: Red and Grey, GTechnology: Black and Navy, WD: Orange, Western Digital: Rainbow Colored Data Pulse)
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Previously, two separate teams were working on the Western Digital Store and the Corporate site, resulting in 2 sites with the same root domain name. (WesternDigital.com and shop.westerndigital.com) This led to SEO conflicts and customer confusion.
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Sites did not meet accessibility guidelines, one being sued and another under threat of suit.
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The Strategy
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Designed an architecture/taxonomy schema to allow for growth and addition of new programs for B2B, launching in years two of the three year plan.
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Created a Centralized Neutral Tone Design System for the Sales, Marketing, and Support sites as a backdrop.
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Individual Brands continued pallet branding, while adopting common fonts and UI Controls.
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Worked with IT to create an API approach that allowed common support activities to be handled pre-login. (i.e.: KB searches, user guides, data sheets)
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Developed an SEO strategy leveraging educational content to garner repeat traffic for resource value material.
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Ensured Inclusive Design, meeting WCAG 2.1 AA standards for desktop and mobile experiences for accessibility.