CARGILL
Bringing Thrive alive in a new global website
SITUATION
Cargill, the world’s largest private company, had one of the world’s largest marketing problems: a website that didn’t satisfy the needs of the users or the requirements of the business. Having introduced their new Thrive brand two years earlier, they still hadn’t figured out how to bring that brand to life online in a global experience that could be customized to meet the needs of individual businesses and buyers across seven global regions. After a review of ten agencies, Cargill selected SCHERMER based on our combined brand, UX and content expertise, plus our unique approach to building Buyer-Driven Brand experiences.
OBJECTIVES
Since Cargill.com serves as both the communications hub and commercial access point for all their stakeholders, creating an easy-to-navigate site was critical. So while the objectives of the redesign were myriad, they rolled up to these three:
1.
Create a buyer-driven, mobile-friendly, global-feeling, digital brand experience; intuitive, interesting, relevant and value-driven
2.
Create a brand-driven platform: Create a uniform One-Cargill experience, while giving stakeholders ability to customize content for their BUs, brands and regions
3.
Design a comprehensive website that allowed easily navigable and discoverable content at scale
SOLUTION
Cargill’s internal BA/UX teams from each of their seven regions did initial discovery, including business, customer and content req’s. But they hadn’t been able to bridge the different stakeholder and business needs and gaps, so SCHERMER led the effort to consolidate the regional req’s into a comprehensive, global UX and Content Strategy.
The redesign was informed by user feedback, benchmarking best-in-class sites and search/web analytics. We facilitated multiple UX workshops, utilized rapid prototyping, and employed testing to come to a unique UX strategy and UI design. A visual system utilizing photography and custom iconography was designed to transcend language and assist global users’ navigation and experience. Combining IA and content strategy process to drive to a faster UX solution, we refined content strategy in later phases.
Because of the vast nature of the business and changing needs of so many types of users, the Mobile site was treated as a sister site for better performance.
“The new site more accurately represents the size and scope of Cargill—integrating regions, industries and the solutions we bring to customers,” said Lise Hansen, director of digital communications at Cargill. “It embraces our complexity, but also makes it easy for customers to navigate the site and find the products and innovations they need to be successful. This includes making the site mobile-responsive to match the buying habits of today’s B2B customers.”
RESULTS
Cargill now has a website that builds the brand, serves the buyer, and solves the problems of the individual BUs and marketers. The site features a mobile-responsive design and integrates content from many separate websites into one online destination, making Cargill’s collective knowledge, products, and services accessible to more than 3.2 million unique visitors annually from more than 190 countries. It also offers an elevated focus on sustainability, featuring Cargill’s efforts to nourish the world and protect the planet.
Visitors to the site will find:
- Improved tools to help customers find solutions in the food & beverage, foodservice and bioindustrial spaces
- A streamlined job candidate experience, with videos and employee testimonials from Cargill sites around the globe.
- Expanded content and conversations on key issues impacting Cargill, its customers and the broader industry.
“We designed the site to serve as the platform for Cargill to continue to lead on complex issues and engage in conversations on topics affecting our stakeholders every day,” said Hansen. “The new Cargill.com will facilitate partnerships with other thought leaders around the globe. It will help us fulfill our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.”
Cargill.com won two 2017 WebAwards for Outstanding Achievement from the Web Marketing Association – Standard of Excellence, B2B + Standard of Excellence, Diversified Business.
Deliverables
Digital Brand Strategy
UX Strategy
UI Design
Mobile Optimization
Content Strategy + Copywriting
Digital Project Management
