Visit the St. Clair College website. Analyze it strictly from a visual marketing strategy perspective targeting:

Local domestic high school students.

You are to provide three strategic visual enhancement recommendations. For each recommendation:

1. Homepage hero section (reference image):

2. Full time programs page (reference image):

3. Open house page (reference image):

a) Clearly identify the issue or missed opportunity (3 x 2 = 6 Marks)

1. Homepage hero section: the homepage hero section includes heavy content such as the start here and rotates between announcements but the visuals are overwhelmed by the amount of content. They don’t immediately reflect things such as students or campus life. There’s no clear emotional hook for someone landing on the page for the first time. It almost does the opposite because the writing doesn’t follow a pattern but instead it’s everywhere. 

2. Full time programs page: this page consists mainly of a long list of programs with no visual support besides the top hero section. It makes it hard and overwhelming to understand for high school students who may not even know what they’re looking at. It forces you to go slow and scroll up and down multiple times because it’s easy to get lost in a list. 

3. Open house page: this acts as an article page, the visuals are limited using a few static photos that seem to just exist to fill space placed between large blocks of text. They include students walking and some talking to faculty without mentioning the quality of the images aren’t top quality but more phone and no attention to any editing or lighting. They document the event but don’t necessarily help the user in seeing the value in experiencing what it would be like to attend this event.

b) Propose a specific visual improvement (3 x 2 = 6 Marks)

1. Homepage hero section: instead of using the rotating banner full of announcements, upload a full width video or a strong image of actual students on campus that someone such as a high school student can see themselves in. show things such as walking to class, hanging out, or being in an engaging learning environment. Keep text minimal and allow the visuals to lead. 

2. Full time programs page: instead of using a list to present the programs, use a visual program card where each program has a picture that reflects what it would be about. As well as categories to put all relevant programs together such as “creative” “business” “health” etc…

3. Open house page: the page could use an interactive or immersive visual format such as using a short introductory video at the top of the page to highlight key moments. As well as a scrollable image carousel showing different moments and faculty, tours, classrooms, students interacting. It should be placed before any text so it can be the first thing users see. 

c) Explain why it would improve recruitment effectiveness (3 x 2 = 6 Marks)

1. Homepage hero section: the hero section is very important because it affects first impressions and they can happen fast since they are processed a lot quicker than text. A big captivating image can instantly communicate what the experience will feel like for first time students instead of making them read to figure that out. 

2. Full time programs page: this will make the page a lot easier to scan and understand because someone who’s only interested in health and science programs can easily find their way to those programs rather than having to scroll and possibly miss it because of the stacked format. Users can visually identify their interest which reduces effort and helps with overall site experience. 

3. Open house page: the open house is all about experiencing campus life and using static images doesn’t fully communicate the energy and connections made. A visual video or sequence can show the environment in action and communicate the energy almost instantly by showing the atmosphere at the place and reduce the need to read long text content. It makes the content effective because again it helps the user experience the event without actually being there. 

d) Connect it to student psychology and digital behaviour (3 x 2 = 6 Marks)

1. Homepage hero section: since domestic students consist of mainly high school students they would be more likely to engage with something they see themselves in that would be more real and relatable. Seeing other students go through a similar stage of life as them will help them envision themselves there like they already belong. This will increase interest and encourage them to explore the site further more to see all the places they could belong in.

2. Full time programs page: students, especially current generation, are visual and scan driven rather than read the content to understand because they can get overwhelmed by all the choices. Visuals make the decision process a lot faster and simplify decisions which can make the conversion process much quicker because students are getting led visually from one place to another without spending too much time looking and reading information. 

4. Open house page: future students would want to know “What would it feel like being there?” and an immersive visual could help answer that question because it allows the person to imagine themselves at the event and most importantly feel confident in attending because now they know how to navigate around and what to look for. It will encourage actions such as applying or wanting to actually go and clicking book a tour. Ultimately increasing engagement and moving users closer to conversion.