Project: Virtual tour of campus

My role: Conversational scriptwriting, script translation management (Mandarin, Spanish), content design, cross-campus advocacy and collaboration, user research and testing, casting, and project/vendor management

Stakeholders: Prospective students/families in the U.S. and abroad, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Dean of Enrollment, the Division of Communications

Goals: Increase the number of prospective students, both in the U.S. and abroad, who could ‘visit’ campus. Increase accessibility and inclusivity to the tour by tracking voiceovers in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, as well as producing the script on-screen.

Outcome: Launched in 2013, the tour has become a centerpiece of admissions.vanderbilt.edu, and has become especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m working to get specific numbers—I left VU soon after to attend grad school in New York—but its lasting relevance appears somewhat assumed given how Admissions continues to use and update the product as its national ranking continues to ascend.

My process

— Before writing the script, choosing feature locations, or casting talent, I assembled a large group of senior admissions stakeholders, designers, developers, marketers, and broadcast producers to define our why, our budget, our timeline, our production and QA process, and the holistic story about academics, student life, athletics, and research we wanted to tell throughout the tour.

— After a quick but intense RFP process, I secured a vendor and managed their onboarding

— To begin drafting an outline of the tour, I spoke to student tour guides and admissions colleagues to get a sense of what stood out on the tour and what visitors were most interested in. I also met with campus historians and professors to identify the most university’s most important locations and why that was so.

— After designing the route and getting it approved, I wrote the script and began casting real students, representing Vanderbilt’s diversity, to read it. I also secured translation services and voiceover talent to read the Mandarin Chinese and Spanish language versions.

— Simultaneously, I was scheduling the two-day shoot with partners across campus (one can’t simply walk onto the football turf, naturally) and our vendor, as well as securing a golf cart to keep the shoot nimble. It’s the little things.

— During the shoot, I directed the photographers ‘on set,’ ensuring everything in the script was covered accurately and comprehensively

— A few weeks later, with a draft of the completed tour in hand, I sent a private link to the original committee of cross-campus stakeholders, as well as a select group of student tour guides and admissions counselors. They were tasked with completing the tour and delivering feedback to me.

— Once edits were accounted for, I assembled the committee again and led a final tour to secure approval. We also outlined advocacy and marketing campaigns for internal and external audiences.

— Shortly thereafter, we published the tour. And I slept.

How it works

Copy, CTAs, and photography that tie back to survey data. Current and former Vandy students had previously shared that Nashville, Academics, and Affordability were important in their own decision-making process.

Note: These screenshots are from Admissions’ current site, as the copy (which I wrote) has been made more legible in later site design iterations.

An inviting navigation, copy, content, and opportunities to connect with current students

Note: The microsite was produced in 2013. Given a do-over, I’d condense and write the nav to be more action-oriented. Still, the warmth of the copy and the design of the CTA stand up. I think.

Infographics and warm opportunities for further immersion.

Again, these screenshots are from the current iteration of Admissions’ site, so the numbers have changed. But earlier iterations were included in the Class of 2017 microsite, staying consistent with my broader push for infographics in VU’s web/print publications and making it easy for students/families to learn more on the virtual tour.