USC Annenberg School for Communication
““There used to be only one person updating content…me. Now with Sitecore, I am free to see to the technical side of things and provide more value-add to the site while the content contributors manage and update their own content.””
-Andy McHargue, Webmaster, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
Summary
With several different audiences seeking information from USC Annenberg’s Web site, the college needed a way to better manage the content on its site. USC Annenberg turned to Sitecore to implement a Content Management Solution (CMS). Sitecore enabled USC Annenberg to create a more dynamic Web site that engages students, parents, donors, prospective faculty and alumni. Administrative staff, faculty and students now have the power to create, manage and publish content to the site.
Challenge
Despite various content management tools developed in-house, USC Annenberg’s previous Web site was managed by just one person – creating a bottleneck situation. Furthermore, the home-grown solution could not scale to support the volumes of content the school was developing. The challenge presented to Sitecore and USC Annenberg’s Web design firm, Citrus Studios, was to revamp the school’s online strategy and redesign the current Web site to offer a more dynamic consistent experience for site visitors. To support the new Web site, USC Annenberg wanted to accelerate the process of managing content updates for the Web site, and make it easier to post content for faculty members, admissions and public affairs.
Solution
USC Annenberg needed a solution that was easy to use by students and faculty responsible for keeping content fresh and updated throughout the entire site, without aid from the IT department. From an IT perspective, the tool selected needed to work with current and future Microsoft environments.
USC Annenberg selected Sitecore Content Management System (CMS) to support its new Web strategy and the launch of the newly designed site. With Sitecore and Citrus Studios, the USC Annenberg’s public affairs Web team developed the new site’s look and feel, and began training academic and administrative staff across the school on how to update and manage content on the site.
Unlike other CMS tools USC Annenberg reviewed, including several open-source solutions, Sitecore offered a better end-user experience. With Sitecore CMS, USC Annenberg achieved their online strategy goals including:
- Empowering content contributors campus-wide to easily publish content in a familiar user interface
- Creating a cohesive, branded Web site experience for visitors
- Delivering timely information to each audience
- Reducing the IT bottleneck of creating and managing content
- Scaling the site for continued growth
- Improving design look and feel
Result
With Sitecore CMS, USC Annenberg has:
- Reduced time needed to publish content online
- Gained more control of brand
- Provided administrative staff and faculty with the ability to add, edit and manage content easily.
Currently, USC Annenberg has on average 15 contributors who create and post content, enabling the IT department to focus on more strategic technology initiatives. By giving content management responsibilities to academic and administrative staff and maintaining centralized control over the site’s look and feel, USC Annenberg is confident that each visitor has a seamless and valuable experience while exploring the site.
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